A Twisted Tale
by GreentreeFrog
Summary: The Autobots arrived on earth 17 years earlier and found a pair of abandoned baby twins, who they decided to raise. One is narcissistic and one is mischievous: sound familiar? How will these two change the story? 'T' for cussing and themes
1. Bad Influence

**Hello fanfiction-eers! (lol, that rhymes with three musketeers...never mind) **

**This is my first story to post on fanfiction (using this account anyway...), and I'm not even sure I _want_ to upload it. I wanted to have this whole thing written before posting it, but I ran out of motivation, so I decided to post in anyway. I should update once a week, and if I don't, I give you all permission to pester me until I do.**

**This story will have humanized!bots in it (but only two, for the sake of the story), so if you don't want to see some [temporarily] humanized bots, I suggest you click the button at the top left hand corner of the screen with the arrow pointing left (or press backspace if you have your key-board short-cuts on :P). Also, this story will have quite a bit of dialogue from the movies (and I'm planning on doing all three) and a fair bit of TF mythology in it.**

**Now onto a more serious matter: I do not own Transformers, they unfortunately belong to hasbro and Micheal Bay and whoever else has a hand in the fandom. I don't even own the twins, nor their human names (I stole them from a couple of guys in my grade because I had no inspiration what-so-ever at the time). I only own the plot and all of the devious things I have planned *evil grin***

**This author's note has gone on for quite a while, so with out further ado, I present to thee: _A Twisted Tale! _(not a very imaginative title -.-' )**

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><p>The corridors of Tranquillity High were exactly as the name suggested: tranquil. It was early morning, before anyone had arrived and the sun was barely up. The birds were chirping outside and little squirrels were scavenging for nuts at the base of trees. But if one listened hard enough, they could hear the sound of quiet sniggering. This sniggering might seem innocent to you, but to some, it could strike unbelievable fear into their hearts.<p>

"No! Don't use the green one! Use the yellow one!"

"Why did I even agree to this?"

"Because you love me and you don't want your twin to prank on his own."

"…alright, you win this time."

"I always do, now pass me the yellow one!" The teenage boy held out his hand and one who looked almost identical to him handed him a wire. The first one hooked the wire up to a box that had so many other wires connecting to different places it was impossible to tell where one started and ended.

"Done!" he said, stood up and stretched his back.

"What did we just do anyway?" his twin asked. He only agreed to helping his brother prank most of the time because his brother would threaten to mess up his hair… he would never admit he actually _enjoyed_ pranking and spending time with his brother- that was _way_ to out of character for him.

"We, my dear brother, just sabotaged the PA system. Now, when the principal tries to announce something, he'll sound just like Darth Vader or Sexy Back will play through it. Depends on what he tries to say. If he just wants to announce something, it'll be Darth Vader. However if he tries to call us to his office, it'll play Sexy Back. Am I a genius, or am I a genius?"

His twin hummed. "Not one of your better pranks." Just as he said that, his phone buzzed. He grabbed an iPhone with a bright yellow case out of his pocket and unlocked it. "It's the Hatchet. He's wondering where we are."

The first twin looked thoughtful for a moment and then his face brightened. "Got it! Tell him that we went to school early because we wanted to walk to school, get a bit of fresh air! It's better for your health _and_ the environment after all," He said his eyes bright. His brother nodded kind of absently.

"Because fresh air is so hard to come by..." the second muttered sarcastically before typing in the message. So the two twins walked off to wait at their usual spot for school to start.

These two twins may seem like the normal, pranking twins to you, but looks can be deceiving. You see, these two twins haven't had the same upbringing as you or I. No, these twins were raised by giant, transforming alien robots from the planet Cybertron. They called themselves the Autobots, the 'good' faction in a war that had been raging for millennia. They are looking for the Allspark, and they traced it here to Earth. That's how their chief medical officer, Ratchet, stumbled across them as babies.

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><p>Ratchet had just chosen an alt-form in the form of a search and rescue hummer- quite fitting, don't you think? He was the first to arrive at the abandoned alleyway that was the meeting point for the others that had arrived on Earth. He was about to slip into some light recharge, when he heard a cry from the dumpster beside him. Using his superior scanners, he scanned the dumpster, and the results had him extremely surprised. Near the bottom, there was a large garbage bag with a few holes in it and in that bag, there were two infants. Ratchet immediately transformed and got the infants out of the dumpster. He scanned them, this time more thoroughly and found that they were extremely malnourished and quite sick. He quickly gave them a shot to deal with the sickness and malnourishment. At that moment, Optimus Prime and the others rolled in.<p>

Optimus transformed and started relaying orders. He didn't seem to notice the human infants that Ratchet held in the palm of his hand. Ironhide did, however. "Ratchet? Mind telling us why you're holding two baby fleshies? You didn't steal them for curiosity sake, did you?" Ironhide asked gruffly and Ratchet snarled at him.

"Of course not! They were abandoned in the dumpster! They are malnourished and could offline!" Ratchet said, his optics flashing. True, he didn't know much about this race other than the medical journals and procedures he downloaded, but he could still tell when a patient, or in this case patients, needed help.

In the end, the Autobots agreed to raise the two twins, much to the delight of Bumblebee and Jazz. Optimus seemed indifferent, but one who knew him could tell that he was pleased to have two new charges among his ranks. Ironhide, after a bit of grumbling, softened up and eventually the twins had him wrapped around their little fingers. As they didn't know any good human names, and a search of the internet gave them nothing they really liked, they gave them Cybertronian designations: Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

Over the years, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker grew up, but some would say only in appearance. You see, the twins had a nasty habit of pulling pranks. They started at the meagre age of six, getting them in trouble in preschool. Since then, they had pulled many pranks, of all shapes and sizes. Of course, the Autobots eventually had to give the two human names, and when they asked them what they wanted, they received the answers of "Xan" and "Zac"

Appearance wise, you couldn't tell them apart, even Ratchet would have difficulty because their signatures were so close they were almost the same being. The only thing different between them was the naturally coloured tips at the ends of the hair. Sunstreaker had bright sun yellow –ironically- and Sideswipe had fire-truck red. The rest of their hair was black and stuck out everywhere –so why Sunstreaker was so worried about anyone messing up his _perfect _hair, nobody would know. They were tall for their age and muscular, but not overly so, and extremely agile. They could perform flips and leaps that had even Olympic gymnasts struggling. The twins had bright blue eyes, so bright in fact, that they almost seemed to glow, not unlike the optics of our favourite robots.

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><p>So back to our story. It was a Friday, the last day of the school week. Teens were starting to pour into the school, the car lot filling up slowly. Sideswipe sniggered as he spotted one of his favourite targets, Sam Witwicky, arriving with his father driving him. Sam was used to their antics, as the twins had been pranking him for as long as he could remember. He slung his bag over his shoulder and started heading into the school. Before he could get too far though, he felt an arm over lay his shoulder.<p>

Sideswipe, or Xan to Sam, had put his arm around his shoulders. His twin was on his other side, but was not touching him. Where Sideswipe was the more open and charismatic twin, Sunstreaker was more closed off, cynical and cold. They were like two sides of a coin. "Sooooo. Hey Sam," Sideswipe said cheerfully.

"Oh god, what have you two done this time? Actually I don't want to know," Sam sighed. He wished these two would leave him alone.

"Oh, I think you'll find out soon enough anyway. So, who're you doing for that family genealogy report?" Sideswipe asked.

Sam shifted his bag higher up on his shoulder. It was heavier than usual with all the trinkets in it. "Uh, my great-great grandfather, Captain Archibald Witwicky." Sideswipe rolled his eyes. As if that would be interesting. It would be another snooze fest.

"Lame!" he exclaimed and Sunstreaker rolled his eyes at his twin's antics. Sometimes he wondered if they were even related.

Sam seemed offended. "Ok, if mine is so lame, who are you doing?"

Sideswipe grinned a wide grin that had Sam faltering in fear for his life. "Sammy boy, you know we're orphans, so we didn't do it."

"What about your adoptive parents?" At this, both of the twins scoffed then laughed a little.

"Who would want to do an assignment on the Hatchet or 'Hide?" Sunstreaker asked. Sideswipe laughed a little more.

"Maybe BB, you know how much he looks up to 'Hide. Jazz would probably fill his assignment with insults to them for making him turn off his music," Sideswipe said happily. "Mind you, the one time they got really pissed was when we messed with his volume controls and he was blasting at full volume and he couldn't turn it off. Even _he_ got angry," Sideswipe mused. Sam was thoughtful- Xan and Zac were real techy. They seemed to have everything before it came out, and had seen movies before they were even released. It must have had something to do with their weird family.

The day passed quietly, with the exception of the intercom incident. It was quite amusing to hear Darth Vader talk about the upcoming bake sale. A few minutes later, Sexy Back started playing throughout the school, sounding almost like the principal himself was singing it. No one could focus on their work for the rest of the session and it was all everyone talked about at lunch time. People were coming up to the twins to congratulate them and thank them for the prank that brightened up their day.

Finally it was the last session of the day and the twins were getting restless. Ratchet had mentioned to them something about a surprise the night before so they couldn't wait to get home. "Xan! Zac! Are you two focussing? Because you're so attentive this lesson, why don't you go next." their teacher, a middle aged man who had no purpose in life but to purposely fail kids, said. The twins looked at each other, then nodded. Sideswipe bounced up to the front of the class and Sunstreaker followed calmly, glaring at everyone who looked at him funny.

"Hi guys!" Sideswipe said and Sunstreaker just nodded at the class. The class grinned and straightened up. When you were lucky –or unlucky- enough to be in a class with the twins, you could be guaranteed a laugh. "So for our assignment, I did my dear counterpart Sunshine here, or Zac to you other people," Sideswipe said happily and ignored the glare his twin gave him for the nickname.

"I did it on the idiot who is beside me. Yes, I'm talking about Si- Xan. You see, Xan is not a normal person- I don't even know if he's even human. In fact, I'm not entirely sure we're related. He-" By now the class was giggling, with the exception of Sideswipe and the teacher, who were both scowling.

"STOP!" The teacher yelled and the twins paused. Neither of them looked like they were going to take him seriously. "The point of this assignment was to _not_ do it on each other! Now you have thirty seconds to come up with some interesting facts about your family!"

The twins smirked. "Sir, we're _orphans_. No family, remember?" Sunstreaker said coolly, staring at the teacher like he was dumb. The teacher spluttered a little and glared at him, which Sunstreaker more than matched.

"Then say something interesting about your adopted family!"

Sideswipe burst out laughing, even Sunstreaker was smirking a little. "Ha! That'll be easy!" Sideswipe exclaimed. The class weren't worried for the twins' health like most would be. They were used to Sideswipe bursting into laughter when someone mentioned something funny about their family, or random fits of laughter that came with prank ideas.

"Our family… well, there's so many _interesting _things to say about them! Well, to start with, they come from a _really_ long way away." Sunstreaker started and the twins sniggered.

"Oh yeah. Sometimes the way they act, one would think they'd come from another planet," again, more sniggering. "But they have an interesting history. They grew up in a war." No need to mention that most of them were there for the beginning of it.

"They travelled from…uh, let's say Australia, 'cause I can't remember where exactly! There was OP, the Hatchet, good ol' Ironbuddy, smooth Jazz and baby BB. They had other family, but they were separated. Hopefully one day they'll get here." And hope they're alive… was the unspoken wish. The teacher glared at them and shooed them back to their seats.

"Sam! You're up!" he snapped and Sam stumbled up to the front. He emptied what seemed to be a pile of junk out of his bag before starting. The twins tuned out his babbling and started writing notes.

_Yo, Sunny!_

_Sides…save me. This is so slagging boring!_

_Hehe sextant. Lol, Sam is so awkward! (:_

_So's sex with you_

_How would you kno? ;)_

_Stop sniggering you fragger!_

_Hey! Don't those symbols look like Cybertronian glyphs?_

…_you're right! They do!_

_They're not words I understand, and OP even taught me the language of the primes!_

_They look like co-ordinates. We need to get a copy of that paper!_

_Roger, roger. _

The Autobots had taken their job as parents seriously and decided to try and teach them their language. While the twins couldn't actually speak the language itself, they could decipher and understand the blips, beeps, chirps and whirrs that made up the Cybertronian language and could read and write the different symbols. Optimus went even further to teach them the language of the primes, just in case.

The bell rung and the whole class packed up their things. "Might be a pop quiz tomorrow, might not. Sleep in fear tonight," the teacher dismissed them.

Sideswipe gave his twin a look that said 'seriously?' "I think he's getting old. Who assigns a pop quiz on the weekend?" They walked through the school and were almost to the car-park when a shout stopped them.

"Messrs Xan and Zac Autober! My office, now!" the yell came from their headmaster (who the twins had once kindly dubbed _head-hunter_), who looked like he wanted to throw something at them, preferably sharp and pointy. The two teens looked at each other and came to a silent agreement: '_RUN!'_ They broke off at a sprint, the headmaster trying to catch up.

They made it to the carpark, but Trent, by being the idiot and bully he was, decided to make the twins' life more difficult by driving his car in their path, with no time to stop. To most, it looked like the twins would crash into the car and end up in the clutches of the Headhunter, as they so lovingly called the headmaster. But only those in the twin's gym class knew that this wasn't true. They sped up and Sideswipe lightly jumped onto the roof of the Jeep that was Trent's car. He grabbed Sunstreaker's hand and jumped down on the other side, catapulting his twin next to him. Cackling madly, they ran into the 2007 GMC Topkick waiting for them.

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><p><strong>I'm a little hesitant in uploading this story- still haven't worked out all the kinks so it'll be a little rough around the edges...<strong>

**I do actually have an idea and a direction for this story, it just might take a little while to get there. I had the idea for this one ages ago while reading a huma!transformers story. I felt like doing something a little different, and seeing as no-one else has done something along the plot-lines I'm going for, then I feel relatively safe posting this. There is no romance planned for this story [other than cannon, of course] but if you want a romance story, and I get enough reviews, I might post one I've been working on. **

**I'm planning on updating once a week. I have around six chapters written for this story but Christmas Holidays/Summer break is only *counts on fingers* two and a half weeks away. And because I live in Australia, Christmas holidays last for about two months, which means more and faster updates. **

**Also, don't forget to review! :D More reviews + more motivation = better and faster updates!**

**Till then, my lovlies**

-**Greentree Frog. **


	2. Second to None

**Yay! I updated as promised! :D It's actually a day early, 'cause tomorrow I leave home at 7am and won't get back 'till 11pm. I've got awards night for school, and because I'm in the Jazz band, rehearsal is early in the morning... _so_ not looking forward to it.**

**Four reviews for one chapter, I'm quite happy, actually! Thanks for those who reviewed!**

**xxx**

**_Noella50881_: Why thank-you :) he's not blowing up in this chapter- I'm saving it for when they do something _really_ stupid, but it's gonna be really good when he does**

**_MissShelz_: of course they are, it's what makes them the loveable twins we all know. I love reading about them too...but I guess you would already know that considering this fic _is_ about them :)**

**_annea101_: Thanks for your review! And I will try to keep them in-character as possible, but considering they are human, they'll probably a _tinsy_ but different**

**_The Rose Angel_: Yes. Yes I did. ;D BTW, how did try-outs for MYO go?**

**xxx**

**Once again, thanks for the reviews! Now I present to thee: the next chapter of 'A Twisted Tale'**

**Listening to: Robot Boy, Linkin Park**

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><p>Once they were safely on the highway Ironhide spoke up. "What the slag did you two do this time?" the truck asked. Sunstreaker flicked the chair while scowling and Sideswipe just grinned.<p>

"Oh, it's nice to see you too, 'Hide. Yeah my day was good, glad that you had a good day too. No, we got no homework and yes we did our family genealogy report…somewhat," Sideswipe said cheerfully while Ironhide tightened his seatbelts in warning. "Geez, 'Hide. I know you're not one for joking around but c'mon!"

"Don't make us regret the gift we have planned for you," Ironhide grumbled. He was used to their antics, and though he wouldn't admit it, he enjoyed their pranks to an extent. He _didn't_ enjoy it when he was their target but he couldn't help but laugh when it was aimed at another bot. He was just thankful that the twins had never met Prowl. The damage it would do to the poor bot (and Ratchet)...

"Aw 'Hide, we love you too," said Sideswipe teasingly. "But seriously, did anything interesting happen today?" Over the past few weeks, the Autobots had been distracted, and when the twins finally asked what was going on, Optimus had explained to them that they may had found a lead to the Allspark.

The truck seemed to pick up speed and the engine made a happy little whirr. "Bumblebee is following one of the main leads right now. It could be a long term assignment, but that's only if the cons don't do anything, which I seriously doubt. That base in Qatar? Definitely one of their doing," Ironhide said gruffly. The twins looked at each other, an expression confirming that they had already figured that out.

They spent the rest of the ride in silence, which was a feat seeing as Sideswipe looked like he was about to burst with words. They pulled up at an abandoned warehouse which happened to be the autobots' home on planet Earth. "Go the back way to your rooms. Your gifts are just about done, you can see them when we call you," Ironhide said sternly. The twins groaned, the back way consisted of a four-storey flight of stairs.

Gears started clicking, so they quickly made their way out of the cab before Ironhide made true on a previous promise to squash them. The twins ran to the stairs and started the inevitable hike. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe lived in the loft of the warehouse, well more of a balcony than a loft. A massive balcony at the top, near the roof. It extended only a quarter of the space of the structure, but it was still quite large. The drop-off was only behind flimsy wire railings, so if one were to lean over, they could see what was going on beneath them. Posters and painting adorned the three walls, ones of cars, bands and for some strange reason: circuitry. Sunstreaker's impressive artwork was also seen, alongside Sideswipe's photos of his larger-scale pranks.

"So…what do you think this mystery 'gift' is?" Sideswipe asked, once he was down on his bed. His twin sent him an _are-you-stupid_ look.

"What's the one thing we've always wanted?" Sunstreaker said, trying to point his naïve twin in the right direction.

"To find out the jerk who left us to die in that trash can?" was the sarcastic reply. Sunny rolled his eyes. While Sideswipe could be cunning, he could also be extremely dense. "But anyway, do ya wanna hang at the lake later? Perhaps we can hitch a ride."

Sunstreaker shrugged. If the gift was what he thought it was, then perhaps they mightn't need to hitch a ride with one of the bots. This train of thought, however, was interrupted by the sound of a truck pulling into the warehouse and then the sound of that said truck transforming into the leader of the Autobots. "Honey, I'm home!" Sideswipe whispered to his twin and started chuckling. Indeed, the mental picture of the regal Optimus Prime uttering that phrase was quite comical.

"Sunstreaker? Sideswipe? You can come down now," the deep baritone of Optimus' voice called to them. _Surprise time._ Optimus lifted a hand to the edge of their balcony and the twins quickly jumped off their bunks, across the room and over the railing. The first time the twins had done that with any transformer –Ironhide, they remember- Ratchet just about had the Cybertronian equivalent of a heart-attack. Spark-attack, perhaps? Nowadays, he was unfazed by it, used to the twins' leaping and stunts.

They were lowered to the ground and made their way to where Ironhide, Ratchet and Jazz were standing. Behind them was something- make that two somethings- large covered with a sheet. Ratchet and Ironhide smirked at them and Jazz gave them a big grin and lifted the sheet off with a flourish. "Ta-da!" Sunstreaker and Sideswipe distantly felt their jaws drop. They were unaware of anything around them –slag, even decepticons could've attacked and they wouldn't notice- because their whole attention was fixed on the red and Yellow Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4's.

"We made a few modifications here and there: added an Autobot com-link, autobot signal and increased the engine power and made it more fuel efficient…" Ratchet rambled on, unaware that the twins weren't even hearing him because they were so busy drooling. The twins were automatically drawn to their vehicles: Sideswipe red, Sunstreaker yellow. Sunstreaker ran his fingers softly against his glossy and bright paint job, while Sideswipe popped the back open and drooled all over the engine.

"Sides?"

"Yeah?"

"I could die right now, and I'd be happy."

"I know what you mean."

Sideswipe closed the back and stood back to admire his new vehicle. He noticed that where the Lamborghini badging was supposed to be, there were Autobot symbols and where it was supposed to say _Gallardo LP560-4_, was his name in silver cursive badging. On further inspection, Sunstreaker realised that this was also the same for him. The twins turned to the Cybertronians who had big grins on their faces.

"Thank-you so, so much!" They said in unison.

Ratchet half-smiled, Ironhide smirked, Optimus had a gentle grin and Jazz was grinning like the cat who ate the canary. "Go on ya Glitches. Hit da road," the silver saboteur prompted and nudged each gently with his foot.

The twins grinned at each other. "First one to the lake gets bragging rights! Go!" they said in unison and hopped in and started their engines at exactly the same time. They were off and out of the warehouse in the next second.

"Prime, are you sure this was a good idea?" Ironhide asked gruffly. "They are old enough to understand, even if they don't act like it."

The noble leader hid a frown. "War is not a place for children, especially them. If the decepticons find out about their relationship with us, who knows what they'll be put through." Ratchet, Jazz and Ironhide didn't like it, but they saw the truth in his statement. They just didn't like hiding things from the twins they had come to love so much.

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><p>Everyone at the lake was startled out of what they were doing at the sound of two powerful engines. The body of said engines flashed past at incredible speeds and then stopped neck and neck in a parking space. Trent felt his jaw drop and Sam looked like he was going to faint. Mikaela was just itching to get under one of those hoods.<p>

Too say the brightly coloured Lamborghinis attracted attention was a massive understatement. The drivers' doors opened and the twins stepped out and scowled at each other.

"I won!"

"No, you dumb-aft, I did! That was a cheap move you pulled back at that intersection. You almost scratched my paint!"

"Live a little Sunny! How about we just call it a draw?"

"But you said that baout yesterday's race as well!"

"I guess we're forever doomed to come in a draw every race."

"Fine...but I _will_ win one day..." (the last part was muttered).

The spectators watched on in confusion. Those who didn't go to school with the twins were utterly astounded, but Trent and his goons were outright furious. Trent was supposed to have the coolest car! Not those two idiots! Mikaela started towards the car and just about to touch Sunstreaker's bright yellow ride, but someone slapped her hand away. "Watch the paint-job!"

Sideswipe rolled his eyes. "Don't mind Sunshine here, since we've only had these cars for twenty-four hours, he's extremely overprotective."

"Well I would be too if I had a car like that," Sam said, drawing the twins' attention to him and his car. It was a different model than what they were used to, but the paint-job…

"Yo Sunny?"

"Sides?"

"Is that…"

"No fragging way!"

"Hey, Sam, when did you get that car?" Sideswipe asked. He was curious and started towards the yellow and black vehicle.

Sam shifted a little, seeming embarrassed. "Uh, yesterday... you can touch it if you want, ya know."

Sunstreaker also left his position in front of his car and stepped over to look at Sam's ride. He peered into the glass and felt his eyes widen. On the steering wheel, was a very familiar symbol. Sideswipe, quickly reaching the same conclusion as his twin, ran his fingers lightly between the cracks of the door. The car seemed to shudder slightly. The twins looked up at each other and grinned identically.

"Take _very_ good care of this car, Sam," Sunstreaker said sternly.

Sideswipe nodded in agreement. Sam just looked a little unnerved and confused as to why the twins were so interested in his car. "Uh…I will?" Sam said it more like a question.

In the background, they could hear Mikaela and Trent arguing about something. It was about Trent being the sexist pig that he was. The twins couldn't help but wonder why a nice girl like Mikaela could stand to be around such a jerk like Trent, let alone date him. You see, despite being hated by the whole football team, the twins could still manage to be popular without trying. Before Mikaela started dating Trent, she and the twins would get up to all kinds of mischief together, sometimes even trying to fix cars. But ever since she started dating the jerk, they had been drifting farther and farther apart.

Sam mumbled something about driving Mikaela home and proceeded to kick Miles out of his car. To say Miles was unhappy about this arrangement was a massive understatement. Just before Sam drove off, Sideswipe called out something that had the other's scratching their heads in bemusement.

"Give 'im hell for us, Bee!" Sunstreaker whacked his twin upside the head quite hard and Sideswipe started grumbling and rubbing at the spot.

"Idiot," Sunstreaker hissed. The immature twin just shrugged. So what if he wanted to have a little fun?

Trent had finally come around ten minutes later, when his tiny mind processed that he had lost the girl. Of course, him being Trent decided to take his anger out on the two closest people who weren't his 'friends'. "You know, my father is the police chief of Tranquillity. I'm sure he'd be interested in your little bout of street racing. So much so, that maybe next time you go over the limit by one mile, he might just happen to have to remove your licences and impound your cars," he said smugly.

But instead of getting fear like he expected, he got an amused glance from Sideswipe and a death glare from Sunstreaker. Sideswipe paused and picked up a stick about a meter and a half long and started twirling it in his hand. "Jealousy is a very petty thing, my fellow classmate," 'Xan' said, almost snickering.

'Zac' gave Trent a withering glance before adding his own two cents. At that time, Sideswipe was now using the stick like a sword and was attacking an invisible enemy. "Yes, and your father may also be interested in seeing a certain video of mine if that is the case. A certain incident involving your house, a party, you drunk and of course your father's car somehow ending up in a ditch. And he's always wanted the answer to _that_ particular question." Trent had paled considerably but Sunstreaker hadn't noticed, because his twin had decided he wanted a _real_ enemy to spar with. He had tried to take him by surprise by using an underhand blow, but Sunstreaker had parried it using the stick he had picked up and no one had noticed. Sideswipe was put off guard by his excellent defence but was thrust back into reality when he sensed his brother's 'sword' coming at him overhead.

It quickly turned into a full-out sparring match. Dull clunks were heard as the pieces of wood met time and time again. The twins were seemingly unaware of the gathering crowd because they were so focussed on trying to get one up on each other. But that was an almost impossible task, because when one blow was about to hit, it was suddenly blocked and the opening was gone. This was why the twins' were always so grumpy after sparring matches: sure, it was fun while it lasted, but it seemingly always ended up as a tie.

Because the twins were so agile they were able to pull some pretty spectacular moves and soon a crowd had gathered to watch them. There was a moment that Sideswipe thought he was going win, where he had pulled a move that involved a series of flips, dodges and a handstand. When he was once again up the right way, he had another 'sword' in his hand. He grinned and attacked his twin with renewed strength. Just as all hope seemed lost for Sunny, the vain twin had managed to pull out another stick from nowhere. Now they were both fighting with two 'blades' and it had made the spectacle a whole lot more interesting.

Of course, their spectacular match had to come to an end, but the two didn't seem to realise it. Trent, seeing the perfect opportunity, motioned to his goons who all grabbed sticks and crept up on the duelling couple. But unbeknownst to them, the twins were very much aware of their surroundings, so when Trent leapt out of nowhere, the twins immediately stopped attacking each other and went back-to-back. The goons realised their cue and tried attacking the two, but the twins' teamwork and coordination had them on the ground within minutes. Trent was soon the only one left, but being the idiot that he was, thought he could take the two on alone.

He tried whacking Sunstreaker over the head with a blow that if hit, could give him a serious concussion, but Sideswipe had his back and blocked the blow from overhead. Meanwhile, Sunstreaker used one of his sticks to swipe out Trent's legs from under him. The jock had landed with an 'oomph' as the wind was knocked out of him.

Sideswipe chucked his sticks to the side –and didn't notice when two obsessed girls grabbed one each- and bent over to study Trent. Even during the fight with his brother, Sideswipe had barely raised a sweat. "Yeah, don't ever try that again," the red tipped twin told the jock. He straightened up and dusted the dirt from his jeans before turning around to walk to his car.

Trent was furious that he was humiliated in front of everyone! He felt like grabbing the twins and then knocking their heads together until they were out cold. Sunstreaker glared at him a second longer before turning around to follow his twin. Trent stood up slowly, trying to be as quiet as he could. He grabbed the stick that he had dropped and crept up Sunny's back. He raised his arm and before someone had time to yell out a warning, he brought it down as hard as he could.

_Thunk!_

The blow was blocked the stick was knocked out of his hand. Trent received a glare that had him wetting his pants. Sunstreaker gave him a look that said 'do I look that stupid?' He calmly told Trent "To quote my brother: _yeah, don't ever try that again."_

With that he had disappeared in the crowd and soon, the roars of the Lamborghinis were heard as the twins left the lake.

* * *

><p>As the twins drove away, an observer chuckled slightly and made a mental note to tell Ironhide of this incident, and perhaps convince Ratchet and Optimus of his idea. He knew Ironhide would be right on board with his plan.<p>

Jazz turned his holoform off, smirking slightly when the rest of his consciousness came back to his alt form. The holoform was a new experiment Ratchet had recently perfected. They were like holograms, except solid and could actually feel and use touch and pick stuff up. It was dead useful. Of course, the twins hadn't been informed of this new development. Who knew what those two would do once they found out. Jazz made a mental note to destroy all blackmail regarding him… if he could find it.

Of course, there was another feature to these holoforms, one that Jazz hoped he would never have to test out. But as it could very well save his aft from offlining, he wasn't so quick to dismiss the idea. He was quite surprised when Ratchet hadn't figured out this particular feature, and he was hesitant to tell him, in fear that it wouldn't work.

But then again, he wasn't about to go and try and face Megatron alone. He knew _that_ was suicidal.

* * *

><p><strong>Listening to: Beat it, Michael Jackson<strong>

***drools* I want their cars... Keep in mind, the reason I didn't choose the Corvette Stingray or a Lamborghini Reventon was because this is currently set in 2007, and even though I know the Gallardo wasn't out yet, I have to leave room for upgrades ;)**

**Anyway, once again, thanks for the reviews! Keep reviewing, pretty please! I love reviews, like all authors :D**

**This is me, Greentree Frog, signing out.**


	3. Hero

**Aloha! I am once again updating early for two reasons: **

**1. I am one of the main organizers of the year 9 masquerade formal, and will be extremely busy until Thursday**

**2. I will be spending all day Tuesday out at the reefs with a group of hyper/tired (because we have to be at the bus by 5am to get to the Whitsundays by 6am) teens... so not looking forward to the bus ride (though my friend and I have come up with a few ideas of making the trip more... exciting *evil grin*)**

**Awards night went off without a hitch, and I actually won one of the special awards- the time management award (basically given to the person with the busiest life but still manages to keep their high grades), so I'm really proud of myself. Now onto the reviews...**

**xxx**

_**MissShelz: **_**yes, Trent is a moron, and I'm glad I got the chance to make the twins beat him up. I despise bullies, havving been bullied for most of my years of schooling. It's quite fun taking all your anger out on a certain character, actually. I recommend it to all writers :)**

_**Noella50881:**_**I have a funny feeling that Ironhide would actually be rather proud- after all, he taught them everything they know about fighting. Besides, he could be considered a hypocrite if he got up them. Thanks for your reviews so far- they actually inspired the bit at the end of the chapter (though while it isn't Ironhide reprimanding the twins, I think you'll enjoy it) :D**

_**Autobot Firekat:**_**I will :) thanks for the review.**

**xxx**

**Listening to: Poker Face, Lady Gaga**

* * *

><p>After the twins had returned to their warehouse the night had passed quickly. Ironhide and Jazz were out but they could hear Ratchet muttering curses at them in Cybertronian while he polished his favourite throwing wrench. Sideswipe had made a smart remark along the lines of '<em>language, Hatchet,'<em> and he spent the next hour hiding in his loft. While Sides was doing that, Sunny was trying to weasel out of Ratchet why he was so agitated at Jazz and Ironhide. All he got was a glare in response.

Optimus was also acting strangely, shooting glances at them, as if debating something. Suddenly he had sighed and dimmed his eyes slightly, signalling he was comming another Autobot. Ratchet had growled when that happened and even glared at his leader! Sunny had scampered up to join his twin after that.

The rest of the night was spent lazing around. Sideswipe was watching an action movie, occasionally grabbing a notebook and pen to write down some sort of prank idea. Sunstreaker had resorted to drawing their cars in his sketchbook, even going so far as to draw them as Autobots. Sideswipe had looked over at one point at the picture and grinned, knowing exactly what was going on in his twin's mind. He felt a pang of longing that wasn't his own but ignored it, thinking it was just mistaken for another feeling. After all, Sideswipe hadn't felt like that in ages.

Sideswipe had ignored that incident and put it at the back of his mind. He didn't think it was important.

The twins went to sleep around midnight, but were woken again at around three AM when Jazz and Ironhide came back. They paid no mind to the Cybertronian muttering as they were too drowsy to care. So instead, they went back into a fitful sleep. The twins dreamt of battles they had never fought, deaths they never witnessed, separations that never happened. These weren't new nightmares- the third one especially was one that frequently occurred, but it still bothered them nonetheless.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe woke up around ten AM. After all, it was the weekend- they deserved a sleep-in! They got dressed in identical outfits: black jeans, grey tops with Autobot symbols (a gift from Jazz) and black leather jackets. The only difference in outfits was the shoes- Sunny had yellow converse high-tops while Sides had red.

Once they were all ready they called for Ironhide –who happened to be the closest Autobot- to help them down. Ironhide chuckled as he raised his hand. The bot himself was a little over two stories tall so it was a bit of a jump but after doing it for so long it didn't faze the twins. Once they were down on the ground the weapons specialist winked at them, leaving the twins quite confused. Before they had time to ponder Ironhide's strange action, Jazz had walked up to them, a swagger in his step.

"Heya!" Jazz called.

"'Sup? Why are you so overly cheerful this morning? Did a new Pontiac come out or something?" Sideswipe asked.

Jazz grinned a little more and replied "As a matter o' fact, there is a new one out dere. But dat's not why Imma so cheerful. Tap da Autobot symbol on da steering wheel five times, but make sure ya do it outta base! Seeya glitches!" And with that Jazz walked off.

Sideswipe unfroze and muttered to his brother "This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. What was that about anyway?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Sunstreaker replied, "but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the cars. How 'bout we have breakfast and then check it out?"

Sideswipe agreed to the idea and so they had a hurried breakfast of pop-tarts and mountain dew, all the while thinking of how Ratchet would have a fit if he knew what they were eating for the most important meal of the day. Once they were done they hopped into their respective cars and immediately noticed the Autobot symbol on the steering wheels.

As soon as they were out of the warehouse, Sideswipe activated the internal comm. system in the car and locked onto Sunstreaker's signal. "Where do you wanna head to?" Sides asked once he established contact.

"_How about we go to that abandoned parking lot on the other side of town? It's close to the highway but no one ever goes there," _came Sunstreaker's voice from the radio.

"Race ya!" And they were off once again, neck and neck most of the way. It was only when there were single lanes that one was in front of the other, and even then they were trying to overtake each other. They had barely avoided a cop car that happened to be patrolling around. Both twins shivered when they passed it, but wrote it off as a fear of getting a ticket. They were so distracted that they didn't see the symbol of an angular face or the drivers' suspicious looks.

It was around eleven AM when they finally got to the abandoned parking lot because the traffic was so bad. It didn't help that people stopped or slowed down when they saw the Lamborghinis, just to get a look.

The twins pulled up in two parking spots, once again a tie. After a bit of grumbling the doors opened and they stepped out of the vehicles. "So what was it Jazz said to do?" Sides asked, inspecting his tyres. He hadn't noticed it before then, but the tyres were actually professional racing standard. That explained why they could handle the corners at the speeds they went. He had to admire the autobots' thoughtfulness.

"Something about pressing the Autobot symbol on the steering wheel five times," Sunstreaker answered. Sideswipe shrugged and leaned back into his car to do as his twin said. There were a few clicks and a gasp, followed by an almost girlish squeal. _Now_ Sunstreaker was curious. "What is it?"

Sideswipe poked his head out and grinned. "Try it in your own car!" So he did. Sunstreaker slid back into the yellow Lamborghini and tapped the alien face five times. The face lit up slightly, almost like it had scanned his finger print and a few clicks were heard. The passenger seat collapsed in on itself, but then a compartment slid open from the top. Inside there was a range of items that didn't really look alien. Sunny picked up a device that looked like one of Bumblebee's plasma cannons, only miniature and made into a gun. There was also a small metallic ball the size of a golf ball and what looked like a pair of leather fingerless gloves that went up to just past their wrist.

Sideswipe popped his head in and looked at Sunny's stuff. "Looks like we go the same things! I got a note with mine, though. Wanna see what it says?" Sides asked and Sunny looked up to get a glance of the note. It was written in Cybertronian so they wouldn't have to worry about a human decoding it.

"_Sunstreaker and Sideswipe,_

_As you know, there is an intergalactic war going on and we fear it will reach earth very soon. As much as OP doesn't want to admit it, we know it's eventually going to become _your_ war soon. So you need to defend yourselves, and we've provided weapons that will help._

_To start with you have miniature –for us, anyway- plasma cannons. Because of the size, they won't be as powerful as ours but they could still do some considerable damage Cybertronians and humans. Please don't muck around with them, Ratchet and OP were very hesitant in giving these to you._

_Next you have a special device that will admit an EMP (electro-magnetic pulse) blast. It won't down a Cybertronian but it's powerful enough to knock out military standard tech and maybe offline some Cybertronian weapons. It will however give them enough of a shock to get you out of there. Be warned- it can only be used once every forty-eight hours, so be very strategic when you do use it. To activate it, hold it tightly in your fist for three seconds and then throw it into the air as high as you can._

_The last is a rather special gift from us. We won't say much, other than to train with them, that's the only way you can get better._

_-Jazz and Ironhide."_

"EMP blast? That will be dead useful," Sunstreaker mused. He was confused, however, about the gloves. Why would they need to train with gloves? Unless it was some sort of joke.

"I dunno, that plasma gun is pretty cool!" Sideswipe said, almost bouncing up and down. "Hang on a tick, I'll be back." Sideswipe ran to his passenger door and grabbed his items. He returned, putting the EMP ball in the inner pocket of his jacket and slipping the fingerless gloves on. "I wonder what these do… other than make a fashion statement," he wondered. He slipped the plasma gun in between his belt and his jeans, but made sure it was hidden by his jacket.

Sunstreaker put his own gloves on and stepped out of the car. "I have no idea." He clenched his fists tightly and suddenly-

_CHINK!_

Two blades, as long as his arm, appeared on Sunstreaker's arms. It started half-way up his arm and it ended quite a bit further away. They were almost like extensions of his arms. They were strapped to his wrists and his hands via the glove so he didn't have to hold onto them. He tapped them together and they made a satisfying _ding!_

"Whoa!" Sideswipe whispered and clenched his own hands tightly. Two blades identical to Sunstreaker's appeared on his arms.

"Sub-spacing," Sunstreaker muttered.

Sideswipe inspected his closer, noticing how they were mega sharp. The metal had a weird sheen to it, it looked nothing like the metals found on earth. "Hey Sunny?" Sideswipe asked.

"Yes? And don't call me that!"

Sideswipe ignored the second part and continued. "I think they're made of some type of Cybertronian alloy… Cybertanium I think. They're harder and sharper than anything else I've seen on earth."

Sunstreaker processed his twin's statement and nodded slowly. It made sense, and besides, he couldn't think of any Earth metals that could sub-space as well as Cybertronian metals could. On closer inspection, Sunstreaker saw that the blades had microscopic Cybertronian glyphs carved into them. _Sunstreaker,_ his name in Cybertronian was one of them and _Sideswipe_ was another but he couldn't figure out the others. He shared this discovery with Sideswipe, who also had no clue as to what the other markings meant.

"I think we should practice with them," Sunstreaker said slowly after a few minutes of inspecting the blades. The blades themselves were not heavy, but not feather-light either- they were the perfect weight. They were just a bit wider than his arm, but not so wide as to become cumbersome. "However, because of how sharp they are, we're gonna have to be extra careful."

Sideswipe, in a rare moment of wisdom said "Why don't we just try and re sub-space them first? That way, if someone shows up, we can get them out of the way quickly." Sunstreaker quickly agreed, surprised that he hadn't thought of that himself.

They got it after a few minutes. It was all a matter of _willing_ them to do as they wanted. They also worked on getting it so that they didn't appear every time they clenched their fists. After all, that would get extremely annoying over time. Once they could fluently and consistently get the blades to come and go, they started sparring slowly, careful not to hit each other. During their slow match, Sideswipe had accidently hit an abandoned car with his blade. They were both surprised and very scared that it cut through the metal like it was melted butter. They were both overly cautious after that.

Eventually the twins got more daring and started using more aggressive moves against each other. The first came from Sunstreaker, who tried a fast underhand blow. Sideswipe parried it to the side easily and soon they were back to their original standard. The clinks of metal hitting metal became louder and faster as time went on.

They were forced to stop when they heard someone chant '_oh god, oh god, oh god,'_ over and over again. There was the sound of an engine and a sigh of relief. The twins quickly sub-spaced their blades and looked at the time: it was around three PM. They had been at it for almost four hours!

There was some more yelling, a familiar voice babbling to an officer who wasn't responding by voice. The twins glanced at each other, once again reaching the conclusion at the same time. _Sam._ They were startled back into reality when they heard familiar clicks and whirrs. Eyes widened and the twins crawled behind a car. They raised their head so they could see what was going on. What they saw shocked them.

It was an unfamiliar vehicle with an all too familiar symbol transforming and scaring the crap out of Sam.

"_Are you username Ladiesman217?"_ It growled.

Sam looked ready to faint. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"_Answer me! Are you username Ladiesman217? Where is the eBay item 21156? Where are the glasses?"_

The glasses? The twins glance at each other. Why was a decepticon after some glasses? They were trying to figure it out through a silent conversation, so they didn't notice when Sam screamed at it and tried to get away. Sam and the decepticon ran past them, not even noticing them.

Coming to a silent agreement, the twins ran to their cars and strapped themselves in. "Follow them?"

"_Follow them."_ Sunstreaker confirmed.

"I'll try and get a hold of Optimus," Sideswipe suggested as soon as they gunned out of the parking lot. He could see the back of the Police car as it sped after a yellow Camaro with racing stripes.

"_Bee!"_ Sunstreaker yelled. Sideswipe was still trying to get the Autobot comms. to work. All he was receiving was static.

"Slaggit! The decepticon must have jammed the comms!" Sideswipe swore.

"_Then how are we communic- pit spawned glitcher!"_ Sunstreaker screamed when the two cybertronians they were chasing took a sudden left turn. What the twins didn't realise –and probably wouldn't for a while- was that they weren't communicating through the radio. In fact, no sound was coming from the radio or communication devices what so ever.

The chase seemed to go on for ages, and it was dark by the time the twins were forced to turn off their engines so that the decepticreep wouldn't find them. They parked their vehicles behind a tool shed and slipped out. They could just see the police car drive straight past Bumblebee and his passengers, and then said Autobot come screaming out of the small alley and dump Sam and Mikaela out. Then, Bumblebee started transforming, while Sam and Mikaela looked on in shock. But they didn't have time to be shocked for long, because the Decepticon had launched a little minicon at them.

It ran at Sam who screamed girlishly. The twins wanted to help but were cautious in using the alien tech- they didn't want the decepticons connecting them to the Autobots and then capturing them and using them for ransom. They were forced to hide behind the tool shed, however, when Mikaela ran straight at them and into the shed. She ran back out, carrying a hand-held power saw. They knew she wouldn't be able to use it if she didn't have an opening so Sideswipe decided to help her out.

He grabbed the small metallic sphere from his pocket and held it tightly in his hand. "I guess it's time to find out the blast-range on this thing," he muttered to his brother before throwing the ball in his hand as high as he could. There was a high-pitch whine and then a tiny bang before all the lights were knocked out. A few minutes after that, the sounds of Cybertronians battling stopped. Sunstreaker's and Sideswipe's eyes widened and they poked their heads out the side of the building.

They were relieved to see Bumblebee retracting his battle mask and reverting his hand back to normal. He conversed with Sam and Mikaela through the radio, trying to explain with his limited vocabulary. After a few words were exchanged, Bumblebee had folded back into car form.

"_Any more questions you wanna ask?"_ and he opened his door. Sam immediately started towards the yellow bot, but Mikaela hesitated and hissed at him. Sam said something to her that the twins weren't able to pick up before she entered the car herself.

Sideswipe looked to his twin and asked "Shall we follow?"

"We shall."

Quickly hopping back in their cars, the twins waited until Bumblebee was a safe distance away before following. They had to drive for about three miles before they saw sign of any electricity working. Sideswipe couldn't help but whistle.

The twins were driving through a tunnel when Bumblebee had passed _them_, on _two wheels_, going in the opposite direction. There was a brief flash before a brand new 2007 concept Camaro, yellow with black racing stripes drove back past them. Sideswipe laughed while Sunstreaker couldn't help but grin.

"What was that all about, Bee?" Sunstreaker asked through the now working Autobot comms.

"_I thought I saw you two following. The human female made a comment of how I was a 'piece of crap Camaro'. I couldn't help but show her up,"_ came the reply. The voice that came through the radio stunned the twins, because they had never heard Bumblebee's real voice. The comms. were the only opportunity one could have to hear it, because it was internal and didn't require the use of vocal processors. To them, he sounded slightly British and surprisingly older than they thought he would sound.

They didn't say anything for the rest of the trip. They just drove until Optimus Prime's voice came from the radio.

"_Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, we will be meeting Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes _alone. _Please do not interfere. If you must follow –which I can sense you already are- then do it without alerting them to your presence."_

The twins were a bit miffed but respected Optimus' wishes. "Can we ask why?" Sunstreaker asked, genuinely curious.

"_The shock of meeting an alien race alone would be enough. To find out class mates were raised by said aliens might be a little much. Especially when Sam finds he holds the key to Earth's survival."_

Sideswipe replied with "What?" But he got no answer. The twins reluctantly pulled up farther down the street the alley was connected to before stepping out. They made sure they had their EMP balls in their pockets and their plasma guns in their belts. The blade gloves had stayed on the whole time. The twins crept down the street and hid between a dumpster and an abandoned car where they had a clear view of Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee and could tell that the two humans were hiding slight panic attacks. The twins shuddered- the alley that they were in was familiar. They thought about it for a few seconds before it dawned on them- it was the same alley that Ratchet had taken them to when they were eleven, showing them exactly where he found them. The dumpster that was helping to hide them from view was the very same dumpster in which the twins were abandoned in.

Before they could muse on the matter too much, three other vehicles pulled into the alleyway –Jazz could resist making a metal can fly their way in greeting- and a large semi-trailer drove in from the opposite direction. The semi-trailer stopped before it slowly transformed into the majestic leader of the Autobots. The sight would have been amazing to those who had never seen the transformation of the Autobot leader, all the parts constantly moving, shifting and turning, and sometimes it still amazed the twins. This was definitely one of those times. The other Autobots also transformed, though Jazz did show off a little.

"Are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendant of Captain Archibald Witwicky?" Optimus asked, once finished forming his bi-pedal mode.

Mikaela gripped Sam's hand tighter before whispering "They know your name."

"Yeah?" Sam asked nervously.

"My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"But you can call us Autobots for short," Ratchet added.

"What's crackin lil' bitches?" Jazz asked, before jumping onto the abandoned car the twins were hiding behind and lounging on it. The silver 'bot whacked the twins lightly on the heads as he did, but considering they were supposed to be hiding, the two could do nothing in retaliation.

"My first lieutenant: designation Jazz," Optimus supplied.

"This looks like a cool place to kick it," Jazz said, as if he hadn't been on earth for seventeen years already. Or he could've just been talking about the car he converted to his own personal lounge.

"W-where did he learn to talk like that?" Sam asked.

"Us," Sunstreaker muttered, but was silenced again when Jazz indiscreetly whacked him over the head lightly with a clawed finger.

"We learnt earth languages through the world wide web," Optimus told Sam, as if it was normal for aliens to learn the language through the internet. "My, weapon's specialist, Ironhide," Prime continued, gesturing towards said bot. There was the sound of clicking before Sam and Mikaela were cowering under Ironhide's cannons.

"You feelin' lucky, punk?" Sideswipe had to put his hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing at Sam and Mikaela's faces."

"Easy, Ironhide," Optimus reprimanded and Ironhide's face fell slightly.

"Just kidding. I just wanted to show 'em my cannons," Ironhide shrugged. Sam gulped visibly and Sideswipe again had to make a conscious effort to keep from laughing.

Optimus continued with the introductions. "My chief medical officer, Ratchet."

Ratchet sniffed the air and stated "The boy's pheromone levels indicate he wants to mate with the female." That time, both twins were furiously biting their cheeks to keep from laughing out loud. They were both shaking and laughing silently, and even Jazz was trying not to laugh as well. The twins had definitely rubbed off on Ratchet: the CMO knew what was appropriate in conversation and what wasn't, so that little statement was definitely akin to the twins' mischief.

"And I believe you've met your guardian Bumblebee," Optimus finished.

"Bumblebee? You're my guardian?" Sam asked, repeating what the regal leader just told him.

Bumblebee nodded and started doing a little dance and sung "_check on the rep, yep, second to none." _Ratchet pointed one of his laser scanners at Bumblebee's throat and Bumblebee coughed.

"He damaged his vocal processors in battle. I'm still working on them," Ratchet mumbled.

Mikaela nodded and turned back to Optimus. "Why are you here?" she asked, being almost braver that Sam in their situation.

The twins watched as Optimus went on to explain the Allspark, the decepticons and even Megatron. He had used his holographic projector to aide his explanation- something Sideswipe was grumpy about: none of the Autobots did that for them!

"Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival," Optimus finished while the rest of the Autobots stood up straight, looking impressive and intimidating.

"But no pressure," Sunstreaker muttered quietly.

Mikaela gulped and said "Please tell me you still have those glasses."

* * *

><p><strong><em>EXTRA: Ratchet's responce...<em>**

****Ironhide and Jazz, two well known Autobots with fierce reputations were currently waiting for Optimus to talk to them after gathering large amounts of data. In all of their vorns of living, the sabotuer and the weapons specialist had never looked more like, well, two children who were planning something they _knew _would get them in trouble. Optimus' vision cleared, and when he saw the two, he knew immediately that he wouldn't like what they were about to propose to him. Thinking of getting the whole ordeal that was to come done quickly, he nodded at them in indication that they should procede.

"Prime, we had an idea-" Jazz started but was cut off.

"_Jazz_ had the idea," Ironhide stated firmly, as if he was telling Prime that he had no hand in it whatsoever.

"Ok, I had da idea and Hide has fully agreed wid it and think's it's great..." Jazz trailed off, not too sure if he wanted to go on. Prime nodded encouragingly albeit slightly hesitantly. "We should give da twins Cybertronian weapons," he said in a rush, less confident in the idea now he was face-to-face with their leader.

"WHAT!" all three bots cringed. Ironhide and Jazz had poor foresight, and had allowed Ratchet to be in hearing distance while they told Optimus about the idea. "Did you fry your processors while you were out! Of all the stupid ideas..." the medic growled as he menacingly stomped into view. The glare he was sending all of them was more terrifying than facing Unicron alone in the middle of space, a Unicron that hadn't gobbled up a world in several vorns.

A wrench had appeared in Ratchet's servos, but before he had a chance to throw it at anybot, Optimus put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Ratchet. While I agree with you slightly about it being a bad idea, we haven't heard the reason."

Ratchet glared at the leader for a moment before turning his stony look to the now terrified spy and warrior. "W-well, the reason for this being, is that eventually the Deceptiscum will find out about their relationship with us, and they'll need a way to defend themselves..." Ironhide trailed off weakly, trying and failing to avoid the glare of the medic. Jazz had nodded along beside him the whole time, showing that this was indeed what he was thinking. Optimus stared at the two for a moment, conflict in his optics. On one servo, it would help the twins defend themselves against those who would wish to harm them. On the other servo, it was _the twins_ they were talking about, and they were only younglings.

"I will think about it," he finally allowed and immediately moved away from Ratchet. Said medic was currently in a state of anger that put him beyond words. Why hadn't Optimus flat out refused the glitching slaggers? His facial expression was both hilarious and terrifying at the same time.

Ironhide, in a moment of complete idiocy, whistled lowly. "I think the Hatchet's ma_ad-"_

_THWACK!_

The topkick hissed in pain and his optics crossed immediately to the source. A wrench quivered right between his optics, lodged into his helm. Ironhide did the cybertronian equivalent of a gulp, before turning and high-tailing it out of there. Rathet turned to Jazz, who was hiding behind Optimus' legs. "I'll give you are second's head start. It was _your_ idea, after all." Jazz poked his head out from behind the leader, who's battle mask had slipped over his mouth without anybot noticing. The silver mech nodded furiously, before running out and transforming, wheels spinning furiously. Another _CLANG_ was heard when a new wrench (the first was still stuck in Ironhide's helm) dented his bumper. Optimus slid out of the warehouse using the back loading docks before Ratchet noticed.

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><p><strong>Listening to: Party Rock Anthem, LMFAO<strong>

**That last part wasn't as funny as I thought it'd be... oh well. **

**The editting was rushed, because the rest of the family just arrived for a BBQ. Gotta run now, but don't forget to review!**

**-Greentree Frog**


	4. Love the Fall

**Good morning all! I have news (and not good in any way): my little brother just got a drum kit. Said little brother is twelve. 12 year old + drum kit = annoying bangs and noises all day long. Pity me! T.T**

**This chapter has a little angst and a little OOC sunstreaker. I comfort myself with the fact that because he's human and was raised by the Autobots, how he'd feel about them and his reactions and responses to them would be a little different. We're about halfway through he first arc, and when the first movie is over, I can start working on a little sub-story I've had in my head! Can't wait! And I'm pretty sure ya'll like it too :)**

**Only two reviews? That's shameful! But thankyou to those two reviewers, and thankyou to everyone who's faved/alerted this story!**

**xxx**

**_MissShelz_: yes, Ratchet and his wrenches. I was chuckling at the mental pictures as I wrote it. My family thought I was insane! And I'm glad you like the gifts- they just seemed... right at the time :)**

**_The everchanging_: I'm glad you like it! And the twins are just plain awesome, whether they be robotic, human or butterflies :D Thanks for your review!**

**xxx**

**Listening to: Mr Know-it-all, Kelly Clarkson**

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><p>The Autobots transformed and rolled out of the alley, the twins shrinking against the wall so they wouldn't be seen. They waited until the last sets of headlights were out of sight before they ran back to their cars and started the engines. The purrs of twin Lamborghinis were heard as the cars pulled out of their spots and back onto the highway.<p>

"_So Sam's Grandfather wasn't a madman after all. I knew those symbols from the article were familiar!"_ Sideswipe voiced through the radio after a few minutes of tailing the Autobot signals in silence.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Sunstreaker muttered. Sunstreaker's patience was wearing thin, and to be honest, he was worried about what the Autobots would do once they found the Allspark. Would they leave Earth to rebuild their planet, leaving himself and Sideswipe in a foster home? Or would they take the twins with them? Probably not the latter- they had no way of supporting humans or their lifestyles on Cybertron and they could hardly bring enough supplies so as to sustain them for the rest of their lives. So the only option left would be the foster home, and truthfully, the idea _really_ didn't appeal to Sunstreaker.

There was a burst of static, and then Sideswipe retorted "_I'm just saying. Trying to lighten the mood, not acting like I have a storm cloud hanging above my head, unlike somebody I know."_

"Hey-"

"_Will you two shut up? Don't fight now!" _Ironhide's gruff voice emitted from the radio of both Lamborghinis.

"I wasn't aware this was an open line," Sunstreaker snapped. "If I want to fight, I'll fight."

"…_Sunny?" _Sideswipe's voice was soft and hesitant. "_Are you alright?"_

Sunstreaker sighed and took his hand off the gearstick for a few seconds to fun it through his hair. "I'm _fine,_ Sides. Why on Earth wouldn't I be? We've almost got the Allspark back, whoop-de-doo," the words were harsh but Sideswipe wasn't hurt by them. He could tell that his twin wasn't angry at him, but rather, at something else that he wouldn't talk about through the comms.

"_Fix your 'tude, youngling. We are almost at Sam's house. Stay hidden. Ironhide out."_

Sunstreaker ignored most of Ironhide's words and focussed on the road. He turned off his comms and just listened to the sound of the engine and the traffic rushing past. Ironhide's words were true, they had reached Sam's house quickly. The twins parked in a small back-street behind Sam's house and quickly turned off the engines so they wouldn't draw too much attention. The back-street was visible from neither the road, nor the houses so the Lamborghinis were safe. They double checked they had all of their gifts/weapons before locking the cars. Sideswipe slipped into a back gate, which lead to behind Sam's house. Sunstreaker followed, not really paying attention, so when Sideswipe's hand grabbed his forearm he had to physically stop himself from knocking his brother out. Sideswipe looked directly into his brother's eyes, which were flickering beneath the light behind Sam's garage.

"What's wrong? You can tell me anything," Sideswipe said, and his concerned expression was what made Sunstreaker break. There were only a few times when Sideswipe acted his age, and at that moment he was going above and beyond expectations.

"It's just," Sunstreaker started, and Sideswipe nodded him on in encouragement. "I'm scared. I'm scared that the Autobots are going to abandon us, just like our birth parents did when we were born."

"Sunny," Sideswipe comforted, his expression caring. "You know they'd never leave us, they promised us, remember?"

"Yes, they did then, but what about now? Sure, they promised us _then_, but what about once they have the Allspark? You hear them talk about it! They're always going on about how with the Allspark, they can give life back to Cybertron! But to do that, they need to go back, and they sure as pit won't be able to take us with them." To his own horror, Sunstreaker felt a hot tear rolling down his cheek. "I don't want to be abandoned Sides…not again. They're the only family we know." More tears slipped through, and his mask cracked. His face held an expression of utter hopelessness and sadness, with a little anger.

"Sunny…" Sideswipe muttered, and then pulled Sunstreaker into a tight hug. Sunstreaker's shoulders shook slightly as he cried out his fears, his insecurities. Although he never acted like it, Sunstreaker cared a lot for the Autobots, and thought of them as family. The five that raised them held a special spot in his cold heart, almost as close as Sideswipe. To lose them would be a tragedy. Sideswipe rubbed his back softly and let Sunstreaker soak his shirt. These moments that his twin showed weakness happened very, _very_ rarely, but when they did, he was always there to comfort Sunstreaker, just like Sunstreaker was always there to comfort him in his times of need.

"I know it's not much," Sideswipe whispered after Sunstreaker's tears had slowed, "but for what it's worth, you'll _always_ have me. That's a promise." He knew that he couldn't promise the Autobots always being there for them, because there was a large possibility of Sunstreaker's fears happening, but he would always stand by his twin, even to the death.

Sunstreaker pulled away from Sideswipe and gave a small, but real, smile. "I know," he said and wiped away all traces of his tears. His eyes were still a little red, but other than that, he looked perfectly fine.

Their brotherly moment was interrupted by a flash of lights and the ground shaking, as if there was an earth quake. There was a quick whirr of sirens and then quiet.

"What…was that?" Sunstreaker asked.

Sideswipe peered out behind the shed to see what just happened. He wasn't sure whether he should laugh his head off or be extremely frightened. All emotions aside, he still picked up his phone from his pocket and took a picture. He chuckled evilly and turned back to his twin. "Ratchet tripped over the power lines and got shocked, and by the looks of it, buzzed at the same time. Total blackmail material, and great to know for a prank." Sunstreaker's eyes widened and pushed his brother aside so he could see for himself. He sniggered weakly, slowly returning back to normal.

The next few minutes passed in silence with the twins, waiting anxiously for news. After about another ten minutes, there were more sirens, but the twins just wrote it off as to being Ratchet again. They didn't notice that these sirens were slightly different. There was the sound of running footsteps, and before the twins could do anything, they were cornered by men wearing black. Sideswipe smirked but hid it quickly- it was not time for a Men In Black reference, no matter how ironic it may be.

"Well, look what we found here," one of the men snarled and grabbed onto Sunstreaker's wrists. He tried breaking free, but the man's hold was too strong. There was the unmistakeable click of handcuffs' locks and both Sunstreaker's and Sideswipe' hands were locked behind their backs.

"Who are you?" Sideswipe snarled.

"What do you want?" Sunstreaker asked, giving a death-glare. The man leading him hesitated for a second in fear, not immune to the cold twin's harsh eyes, but then continued dragging him. As much as the twins dug in their heels, the men were too strong. The men took them to a line of black vehicles, where Sam and his parents and Mikaela were struggling against their bonds, the adults being forced into a separate car.

"Hey boss, look what we found snooping around out back!" The man leading Sideswipe said to a Hispanic-looking guy in a black suit, who was standing next to the car Sam and Mikaela were forced into. The guy in the suit looked at them, and gestured towards another agent, who was already in the car. He passed him a strange device, which 'Suit' pointed the twins. The machine beeped rapidly and then started smoking. 'Suit's' eyes widened and stared at the twins.

"Off the charts! Take them too!" The twins were then forced into the back with Sam and Mikaela, a tight fit seeing as the car was only able to hold three in the back. Sam and Mikaela both looked at the twins incredulously, trying to come up with reasons as to why the twins were there.

"Xan? Zac?" Sam asked once the car had started moving.

"The very same," Sideswipe replied almost tiredly. The day had taken a lot out of him- first there was the fitful sleep with the nightmares, the training, then the car chases, the his twin becoming an emotional wreck and now this. He was going to need a very long holiday once this was all over.

"So… Ladiesman217. That is your eBay name?" 'Suit' asked Sam, interrupting the would-be conversation. Sam shifted in his seat, looking awkward as Mikaela lifted an eyebrow. Both twins were emotionless, which startled both of the normal teens. Sam had expected at least Sideswipe to laugh or poke fun at his name.

"Well, it was a typo and I just ran with it," Sam said quickly, but 'Suit' wasn't really listening.

"Listen to this," he pressed a button on a phone and Sam's voice started streaming rapidly through the speaker.

"Yeah, that sounds like Ladiesman," Mikaela said.

"Last night, you told the officers at the police station your car _transformed._ Enlighten me."

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe paled visibly but kept silent. "No-no, here's what I said," the brunette teenager stuttered, trying to play off the whole situation. "Because this total situation is a whole misunderstanding. You see, my car had been stolen."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, but it's fine, it's cool, because it's back now, it came back," Sam tried amending.

"But not by itself, because cars don't do that," Mikaela said, trying to fix the situation. Sam laughed loudly as if it was a funny joke, and Suit and Mikaela laughed along with him.

"So what do you kids know about the aliens?" Like that, the fake laughter froze, Sam's face falling rapidly.

"Like, what? A Martian? E.T?" Sam stuttered, nervousness climbing higher and higher.

"It's an urban legend," Mikaela added.

Sideswipe could resist no longer. He whistled, as if he was impressed. "You guys are some rich conspiracy theorists," he said, indicating all the black vehicles holding the hired hands.

Suit glared at him and pulled something from his pocket. That something turned out to be an official looking badge. It was not one the twins had seen before- which was saying something because they had made it their mission in life to find and memorize the different official (and unofficial) federal badges. "You see this? This is a do what I want and get away with it badge. I am going to lock you up, forever," Suit threatened.

"Naw, don't listen to him. He's just pissy because he has to get back to guarding the mall," Mikaela snarled.

"You said it sister!" Sideswipe cried.

Suit glared at them. "You, in the training bra, don't tempt me. Especially with your daddy's parole coming up." Sunstreaker's and Sideswipe's eyes narrowed while Sam looked on in shock.

"Parole?" Sam asked in shock.

Before Mikaela could respond, Sunstreaker butted in. "That was low, even for a slimy government conspiracy theorist like you," he snarled in a voice filled with venom.

Suit glared at him before turning to laptop that was sitting on the dash. After scanning whatever page he had up he turned back to the twins. "And you! You unnatural…freaky… Xan and Zac Autober. Wouldn't want the world finding out that you technically _don't exist."_

Now both Mikaela and Sam stared at the twins. None of the inhabitants of the car noticed the device up the front start to beep furiously until it was too late. The car smashed into what could only be described as a giant foot. Massive digits grabbed onto the car and lifted it right of its axels. There was a foreboding _snap_ and the roof separated from the rest of the vehicle, causing it to fall back to the ground.

"You a-holes are in trouble now," Sam said to the two agents rising up from the front of the car. "Gentlemen, I want you to meet my friend…Optimus Prime." The twins let Sam have his moment feeling like the big guy, because it was guaranteed that he wouldn't feel like it for much longer.

"Taking the children was a bad move," Optimus said, his deep voice sounding darker than usual. "Autobots! Relieve them of their weapons!"

The command was followed out almost happily. "Gimme those!" Jazz called, extending his hand and activating his magnetism, the guns flying straight to him. Ironhide's cannons spun threateningly and Bumblebee's battle mask slipped down as he activated his own guns.

"Whoa, whoa! Big guys with big guns…" Suit muttered.

"You do not seem surprised to see us. Are you not afraid?" Optimus asked, almost curious.

"Well, there are S-7 protocols. Technically, I'm not authorized to communicate with you, except to tell you that I'm not authorized to communicate with you," Suit stuttered.

"Get out of the car…" Optimus growled. "NOW!" The twins jumped out of the car quickly- they had never, ever heard Prime sound so harsh, not even when Sideswipe took a prank too far, nor when Sunstreaker disobeyed him to the extreme. They ran to stand between Ironhide and Ratchet, both of whom were glaring.

"I thought we told you to stay hidden!" reprimanded Ironhide. Sideswipe kicked a pebble that was lying on the road while Sunstreaker glared back.

"Sorry for not being super-advanced beings with superior senses that can hear things that are miles away," Sunstreaker shot back sarcastically, before paling almost comically. "You- you heard everything I said back there, didn't you?" he stuttered.

Ratchet bent down so he could look at Sunstreaker eye-to-eye. "Yes youngling," he said softly.

Ironhide grunted and also bent down. "You have been holding these fears in your spark for quite a while, haven't you, Youngling?" the weapons specialist asked kindly and Sunstreaker had no choice but to nod. "I will admit, we were careless when we practically shouted out our grand plans for rebuilding Cybertron, but rest assured- we will never abandon you. Cybertron has been dead for a few millennia, it can stay like that for a couple more vorns. Even if Primus himself came to drag us back to Cybertron, we would fight 'tooth and nail' before we went."

"True dat!' Jazz said from behind them and the twins jumped in surprise. "I'd miss you glitches for sure! Ya too much fun!"

"Bumblebee! Stop lubricating the man!" Optimus' order brought them right out of their touching family moment. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe turned to look in the directions of the agents, only to see them all lined up and Bumblebee literally peeing fuel on Suit. The twins cracked up laughing when he stopped and stared innocently at the men. Sunstreaker started towards Bumblebee, intent on congratulating him, whereas Sideswipe stayed with Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet.

"Thanks, guys. I mean it. Sunny's been holding that insecurity for a while, and he only just told me earlier," thanked Sideswipe. Like Sunstreaker, the Cybertronians rarely saw Sideswipe act his age, but that night, he went above and beyond, and it was all thanks to his twin. The two were extremely protective of each other- if one was in harm's way, the other would no doubt be trying their hardest to get rid of the threat. The bond they shared reminded the five Autobots of the bonds between cybertronian twins- it was remarkably similar.

"It was no problem, young one," Ratchet assured. "After all, it was the truth."

"But still…" Sideswipe muttered.

"GUYS! We gotta get out of here!" Sam called.

"Slag," Sideswipe muttered, before running to catch up with his brother. He could faintly hear the sounds of multiple helicopters heading in their direction. Optimus ran under a bridge and climbed up into the supports.

He held down his hand towards Sunstreaker, Sam and Mikaela, muttering "Up you get." Sunstreaker got on first, followed closely by the others. Sideswipe put on a burst of speed and jumped agilely onto the hand just as Optimus was pulling it up. Optimus hid out of sight and the helicopters passed right over them. The teens climbed onto Optimus' shoulders- the twins on the left and the other two on the right. Sam leaned down to get a better view of what was going on beneath them, but then he leant too far. He slipped.

"SAM!" Mikaela screamed, quickly grabbing onto his wrist, but then she slipped too.

"No!" Optimus cried but was interrupted by the sound of a transforming Cybertronian. Bumblebee slid under the two and caught them. Sideswipe shot Sunstreaker a look, before leaping off Optimus' shoulder and into Bumblebee's hand. "No! Not you two as well! What are you doing?"

"Sorry OP," Sunstreaker said, and truly did look sorry. "We've gotta protect Sam and Mikaela," he answered, before jumping off and following his twin.

Bumblebee released the humans from his hold, but as soon as he did, a cable was shot from a helicopter and he was tangled in. Another followed the first, until Bumblebee was dragged down.

"BUMBLEBEE!" shouted Sam, as he rushed to try and aid the yellow mech. Sideswipe went to grab the plasma cannon at his belt, but Sunstreaker's hand stopped him. He glared, but Sunstreaker refused to let go.

"No! What if they see you have alien technology? They'll probably take it and we'll never see the light of day again. We won't be able to help Bumblebee if we're locked up in a cell in some secret facility!" Sunstreaker reprimanded, before Sideswipe pulled his hand harshly out of his grip.

"I hate your cold, hard logic," he glared before a strong agent ran up and pushed them forcefully into the car.

"Why- how…?" Sam asked them once they hit the road again, but the twins didn't deign him with an answer. Instead, Sunstreaker glared out the window and Sideswipe rested his head on his brother's shoulder, quickly falling asleep, and once again dreaming of battles he had never fought. The day had been tiring for him, so Sunstreaker let him sleep, watching over him, glaring at anyone who dared disturb him.

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><p><strong>Listening to: Rooftops, A Liberation Broadcast<strong>

**So, hope that wasn't too OOC. Sunstreaker will definitly be a little different to his robotic counterpart- for one, he hasn't seen the horrors of war yet, and two, being human himself makes him a little more empathetic towards people. Not a lot, but just a little. **

**I'm not a demanding person, but one of the reasons I posted this story was so I could see how people respond to it, and if I should continue it or not. If I don't get any reviews, I'll feel this story isn't worth continuing and I might just abandon it, and I really don't want to do that. So all I ask for, for the sake of this story, is 5 reviews. Not too hard, right?**

**Anyway, I'm now on summer break/christmas holidays/whatever else you want to call it, so I should be updating a lot more faster ^_^**

**Until next time- Greentree Frog**

_**QUESTION: **_**what was the best Christmas Present you've ever recieved? Tell me in a review!**


	5. Catalyst

**Yay! Thirteen sleeps till Christmas! Can't Wait. Oh, and please read the AN at the bottom, its got IMPORTANT information :D ****Thank you all so much for the reviews, and all the alerts and faves! **

**xxx**

_**MissShelz: **_** happen to like his softer side as well :) As for the cars, they may have... erm... accidentally fallen into a plot-hole *shields self with laptop* nah, they're gonna stay out the back of Sam's place until the battle is over- the cars themselves are actually pretty important for the story.**

**_Ninne: _thank you so much, your review made me feel a little better about the story :) as for length - I make sure each chapter has over 3000 words at least before I post it (I get pretty annoyed with short chapters too) :D**

**_annea101: _thanks, Your review made me smile :) and thats a pretty sweet Christmas gift too- my favourite was probably a trip to visit my friend who lives in another city.**

_**Navirra: **_**h I will continue, don't worry. I have this pretty awesome sub-story planned for after the first movie and I really want to post it, so you don't have to worry about me stopping )**

**xxx**

**Listening to: Breaking the Habit, _Linkin Park_**

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><p>Eventually, Sunstreaker fell asleep as well, knowing that he'd need his energy later on. Besides, he didn't want to listen to Sam and Mikaela's bickering all night. He was plagued by the same nightmares as his twin, but he slept on through them, almost unconsciously determined to regain some energy. The hours rushed by, until all too soon the twins were rudely awakened a few hours after dawn and ushered onto a helicopter. On the helicopter was what appeared to be another set of people who had no clue as to what was going on- a tanned, blonde Australian girl who introduced herself as Maggie, and a fat (because they were both tired, the twins decided not to use euphemisms) black American, who said his name was Glenn.<p>

"So…" Sam started awkwardly, trying to break the tension.

"What did they get you for?" asked Maggie, clearly seeing what Sam was trying to do.

"Bought a car," the brunette answered, "turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?"

'We did,' the twins thought, as Glenn mouthed _wow_ in astonishment. Maggie turned to the twins, expecting an answer. They were both starting to get their wits back, but they really didn't feel like making conversation with strangers.

"A pure accident. But I guess we have more right to be going wherever we're going than any of you," Sunstreaker muttered, thinking this whole mess had something to do with the Autobots.

"One could almost call it fate," Sideswipe joked. "Now can someone please tell us who that man who 'questioned' us in the car was? Because we're completely clueless." It was an attempt to change the conversation, and get answers at the same time. Fortunately it worked, and neither Maggie nor the others questioned the twins about their circumstances again.

After finding out that the man was Agent Simmons from Sector-7 (Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had never heard of it, and apparently never will), Sideswipe looked out the side of the helicopter and saw a familiar view. "Is that Hoover Dam?" he asked. The others leaned over to have a look- Sideswipe was correct. By then, the helicopters were descending, landing on a pad just outside the damn. They were all ushered out and onto the road, where they got a few minutes to breathe some agent-free air, and to go sight-seeing.

The twins walked to about the middle, and leaned against the ledge that was holding back the water. They were silent, just enjoying each other's company in the last moments of peace. Mikaela and Sam went over to them, not saying anything as they obviously sensed the twin's need of silence. The moment didn't last forever, though, as they all spotted agent Simmons, wearing sunglasses and a beret, looking braver now that he was back in home territory. Sam and Mikaela went over to speak with him, and after a silent debate, the twins followed.

"Hey kid," Simmons greeted. "I think we got off to a bad start." No freaking duh, is what the twins wanted to say, but they held their tongues for Sam's sake. "You must be hungry. You want a latte, ho-ho, double vente mocchiato?" he asked as he put his hand on Sam's shoulder.

The teen just ignored the agent's useless small-talk and got straight to the point. "Where's my car?"

"Son," said the man behind Simmons, who was obviously the agent's superior. "I need you to listen to me very carefully. People can die here. We need to know everything you know, and we need to know it now."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. But first, I'll take my car, my parents. Maybe you should write that down. And her juvie record," he said, gesturing to Mikaela (they had obviously discussed the fact of her father's parole in the car), "it needs to be gone, for like, forever." Mikaela was stunned by Sam's request but didn't show it. "And these two," Sam said, indicating the twins, "_Make_ them exist. Even if you have to create new freaking birth certificates, _they will exist_. I don't care if they 'don't exist' by your standards- they're standing right next to me, so they do in mine." The twins were touched, and when Sam turned to look at them, even Sunstreaker gave him a small, true smile.

"Follow me, we'll talk about your car," Simmons' superior said, filing the requests in his mind for later. Sam and Mikaela followed, but Sunstreaker and Sideswipe stayed further behind. There was the sound of footsteps running and two soldiers from the team that had been close to them caught up to the twins. They were both tall and well-built, the second which was obviously required for being a soldier, but the similarities stopped there. One was bald and had dark skin, but a face you could trust. The other was tanned, dark-haired and was extremely handsome, the markings on his uniform indicating he was a captain.

"Hey, what was that shit about you guys not existing?" the dark-skinned one, who was identified as Epps by the patch on his uniform.

"It's rude to eavesdrop, you know," Sideswipe teased gently, grinning to show the two men that he didn't care either way. Too bad the same couldn't be said for his twin.

"Let's just say that the people who raised us have 'issues' with the government," Sunstreaker snapped. The soldiers kind of looked taken aback, but Sunny paid it no attention.

"Naw, don't worry about Sunny here," Sideswipe said. "At the rate things are going, you'll probably find out the real reason eventually."

"Sunny?" 'Lennox' by his badging, asked and Sunstreaker hissed.

"Don't call me that!" the cynical twin snapped. Seeing the men's stunned looks, he explained a little. "It's the completely misleading and un-cool nickname my infuriating twin gave me." Sideswipe waved cheerfully.

Epps looked thoughtful. "What are your names?" he asked, trying to be friendly.

"Xan and-" Sideswipe started but then sighed. "To pit with it. The name's Sideswipe, the devilishly handsome one, and the one who stole my looks next to me is called Sunstreaker." Sunny glared at Sideswipe as they followed the group but then rolled his eyes. Epps and Lennox were confused by their names, just another mystery to add to the pile, but settled on the thought that they were nicknames.

"Nice to meet you Sunstreaker, Sideswipe," Lennox said but then grimaced, reminding them all of the circumstances in which they were now meeting. It was anything but nice. "I'm Will Lennox, and this is Robert Epps," he said, indicating himself and his friend. Sunstreaker nodded and Sideswipe grinned and looked like he was going to say something, but Simmons' voice interrupted their conversation. Something the twins were very irritated about.

"Alright, here's the situation. You've all had direct contact with the NBE's," the agent said in his infuriating voice. NBE's? What the hell was that? A whole range of different things that NBE could stand for ran through the twin's heads (Naughty Bullying Elephants being one of Sideswipe's creations) but none of them applied to the situation they were currently in (_currently_, because those Naughty Bullying Elephants were really a problem, in Sideswipe's head at least).

The twins were obviously not the only ones confused. "NBE's?" Epps asked.

"Non-Biological Extra-terrestrials. Try to keep up with the acronyms," Simmons informed with a snobbish, know-it -all attitude. The twins had to physically restrain themselves from running up front and hitting him. That, however, didn't stop Sunstreaker from making a sarcastic comment.

"Wouldn't it be easier to call them 'Alien Robots'?" he asked, grinning mischievously, his twin sniggering and Lennox and Epps smirking. Simmons ignored him and continued on with the 'tour', but later when the whole experience was done, Sunstreaker swore he saw Simmons' hand inching towards where he kept his gun.

They were lead down a massive tunnel, so big that even Optimus could walk through it without ducking. "What you're about to see is totally classified," Simmons informed them, and Sideswipe couldn't help but mutter 'we're honoured.' The tunnel ended in a massive chamber, and in that chamber-

"Dear god, what is this!" Senator Keller, the Secretary of Defence, exclaimed. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took one look at the Cybertronian frozen on the platform and knew immediately who it was, freezing in their tracks (no pun intended). They looked at the mech in horror, but no-one except their soldier acquaintances noticed, thinking their terrified looks were a cause of seeing something like…_that._

"We think when he made his approach over the north pole, our gravitational field screwed up his telemetry. He crashed in the ice, probably a few thousand years ago," Banachek informed them. The twins were still frozen and therefor didn't make any witty or sarcastic comments. "We shipped him here to this facility in 1934."

"We call him NBE One," Simmons practically sneered.

"Well, sir, I don't mean to correct you on everything you know," Sam interrupted, "But that's-"

"_Megatron,"_ the twins growled darkly, and those closest to them backed away a little. They had many horrendous tales about the leader of the decepticons, so much so, that they hated him as much as the Autobots did. This was the mech who ripped out Bumblebee's voice processor, who tortured many other Autobots and Neutrals.

"Leader of the _decepticons,"_ Sunstreaker spat, glaring at the towering figure. The glares that the twins were giving the mech were downright terrifying- the phrase 'if looks could kill' ran through many of the other's minds. Megatron would be a pile of smouldering ashes.

"He's been in cryostasis since 1935. Your great-great-grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind." Banachek informed, speaking directly to Sam. He said the last part like Sam should be proud that his great-great-grandfather found an alien murderous tyrant.

"Fact is, you're looking at the source of the modern age, the microchip, lasers, spaceflight, cars, all reversed-engineered by studying him. NBE One. That's what we call it," Simmons sneered, though not as confidently as he would have liked. No one could blame him- those twins looked downright menacing. They turned their cold, electric blue eyes on the agent, and in that moment, Simmons wanted to do nothing more than run and hide…somewhere in Siberia.

Senator Keller looked less than impressed. "And you didn't think the United States military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement?" It was clear to him that they were playing with fire… in fact, they were playing with something deadlier. This was all going to be one big disaster, that would result in many casualties (civilian or otherwise), economic problems and a whole stack of paperwork. Assuming they survive whatever problem is caused here. Keller looked up at 'Megatron's' features, and supressed a shudder. The thing looked menacing, and if the two strange twins' glares were anything to go by, then this thing probably _was_.

"Until these events, we had no credible threat to national security."

"Well, you got one now." Hell, they had a threat to _international _security. How idiotic could these men get? Megatron even _looked_ like he could kill everyone without batting an eye, yet these men keep him frozen, study him, make remarks about him that he could probably hear. They signed their own death warrant.

"So why earth?" Lennox asked.

"The Allspark," Sunstreaker muttered, yet everyone heard him. Sam and Mikaela were stunned they knew another thing they weren't supposed to know.

Seeing everyone's puzzled looks, Sideswipe elaborated for his twin. "It's this big, massive cube-thing that created the Cybertronians –their species- and their planet, Cybertron. It can give life to any piece of technology, and it's the only thing that can rebuild their planet. Megatron here, who's the type of guy who can kill babies without blinking an eye," here he paused, remembering how Ironhide told them of the destruction of the youth sectors, "in fact, he _has_ killed babies without blinking an eye, wants to use the Allspark to give life to Earth's technology and take over the universe, effectively killing the human race in the process," he finished. The two other Tranquillity teens were gobsmacked by how much he knew, and Sideswipe's overall description of the Allspark, Megatron and his plan to bring chaos to the universe. The soldiers and Keller were thinking '_naw, hell,'_ and the S-7 members were staring thoughtfully.

"And you're sure about this?" All four teens nodded.

Sam and the twins froze, seeing Banachek's and Simmons' expressions. Sam, however, spoke up before the twins could. "You know where it is."

"Follow me," Banachek said, and led them into the next massive hangar. Everyone was a bit apprehensive of what was going to be shown next yet they all pushed on and followed the 'alien agents'. When the group reached where they had to go, the twins literally _felt _the power in the room and instinctively looked towards the source. They gasped. In front of them, was a ginormous, ancient cube with large Cybertronian hieroglyphics all over it. Lennox and Epps had to literally _push_ the twins into an observatory room, where they could view the cube and not get affected by its power. "Carbon dating puts it here around ten thousand BC. The first seven didn't find it until 1913. They knew it was alien, because of the matching hieroglyphics on the cube as NBE-1." Banachek paused for a second. "President Hoover had the dam built around it. Four football fields thick of concrete- a perfect was of hiding the energy from anyone, or any alien species on the outside." That much was true- Jazz had taken the twins to the Dam when they were ten. If Jazz couldn't pick up the energy signature, no other Cybertronian could from the outside. The inside, however...

It was then Sunstreaker snapped out of his Allspark-induced stupor and exploded at the s-7 agents. "Are you idiotic? Complete morons? Absolutely _insane_?" he snapped and everyone jumped at the sound of his voice. It had been quiet- everyone staring in awe at the Allspark, and then Sunstreaker snapped. "I mean, even though you possibly couldn't have known that your precious_ NBE-1 _was the definition of pure evil, you have got to be smart enough to realise that putting the universe's most powerful artefact _right next to it_ is a bad idea. I mean, for all you know, the thing could have been feeding it energy, making it stronger! Or it could've woken it up! You can't keep a sentient being frozen for ever, no matter how hard you try. You're not gods!" Sunny's voice was harsh and biting, making everyone, including the soldiers, flinch. Sideswipe put his hand on Sunstreaker's shoulder, and he calmed a little. Sideswipe agreed with his twin, and he probably would have said the same thing, but Sunny had beaten him to it.

"Wait, back up," Maggie said, trying to get the conversation into safer waters. "You said the dam hides the Cube's energy. What kind?"

"Good question." Next thing they knew, they were ushered into a strange room lined with piping, warning signs and a weird, clear box in the middle. "Step inside, they have to lock us in." There was an ominous _SNAP_ as the door closed and they were all handed goggles.

They saw the slashes on the wall that looked like it had been done by claws and Glenn and Epps had a pointless argument about whether it was done by Freddie Krueger or Wolverine. "Anybody have any mechanical devices?" Simmons asked. "Blackberry? Key alarm? Cell phone?" Glenn volunteered his phone and Simmons took it. "Ooh, Nokias are real nasty. You gotta respect the Japanese- they know the way… of the samurai," he muttered as he opened the phone, put it in the box and closed it.

"Idiot," the twins said at the same time.

"I thought Nokia's from Finland?" Maggie asked, agreeing with them.

"Yes well, he's a little… strange," the Sec Def muttered to them, then put a finger to his lips. Everyone but the twins put their goggles on- the twins didn't simply because they were being rebellious and didn't see the need for them. Simmons pressed a button, and there was a bright flash as the Cube's energy went through the cell phone. The phone shook, and then transformed.

The twins gasped once again. The phone started chattering in rapid and basic Cybertronian. It sounded like gibberish to everyone but Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, who had been taught the language by the Autobots.

"A sparkling," they whispered in awe.

"_H-help-p! W-where am I-I? P-please? H-help! S-st-trange b-beings staring!"_ The sparkling started banging against the box, trying to escape. Before Simmons even realised what was happening, Sideswipe snatched the controls out of his hand.

"Hey!" But it was too late. Sideswipe pressed the button to open the box and Sunstreaker held out his hand, which the sparkling scurried onto. The others backed away from them, the soldier's hands twitching towards their guns.

"It's alright, we're not going to hurt you," Sunstreaker reassured the young Cybertronian. "You're at a secret facility, you were created by an object called the Allspark. Us strange beings are called humans- you don't need to worry, Sides and I will take care of you." Everyone looked on, stunned and slightly scared.

"What Simmons just created was a Sparkling- a baby Cybertronian. He was scared and so Sunny and I got him out of there. He was confused by the strange being staring at him, so he was trying to escape," Sideswipe answered the questioning looks. Simmons looked like he wanted to snatch the little Sparkling who had scurried up and rested on Sunstreaker's shoulder and crush it, but the twins were having none of that.

"How can you be so sure?" Simmons sneered. "For all you know, it could be plotting to kill us!"

"We _know_," Sideswipe said impatiently, "because we heard him. He was begging to be let out of there."

"You mean you can understand it?" But whatever else Simmons was going to ask was interrupted by the whole bunker shaking. The lights flickered and the pipes shook.

"Gentlemen," Keller said, "They know the cube is here."

Banachek made a frantic call through the radio and the answer he got was bad news. Apparently they had lost power to the NBE-1 hangar and the back-up generators were not up to the job. "Do you have an arms room?" Lennox asked, his military training taking over. Banackek looked at him and nodded, ushering the group out of the Allspark bunker. They were rushed through the NBE-1 chamber, the twins getting a brief look at Megatron, who by then was probably starting to defrost, and into a separate room loaded with guns, bullets and other various weapons. Lennox's team immediately grabbed their guns and boxes of 40mm sabot rounds. Sam, Mikaela, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were off to the side, looking around helplessly.

Apparently, Sam didn't want to be helpless, because he stormed up to Simmons. "You gotta take me to my car," he demanded. "He's gonna know what to do with the cube."

"You're car? It's confiscated," Simmons replied, being an unhelpful, stubborn git.

"Well un-confiscate it," came Sam's genius reply.

"We don't know what'll happen if we let it near this thing!" Simmons stuttered, "Well maybe you know, but I don't know-"

But Simmons was once again interrupted. Lennox pushed him up against a black armoured vehicle, gun at his chest. "Take him to his car!" he growled, and then there was pandemonium. The S-7 drew their guns and pointed it at Lennox, but his team, seeing the threat, drew their weapons and pointed it at the S-7 people, some of them even knocking out others. They in turn, turned to point their guns at someone who had their gun trained on _them_. It was reminiscent of a certain _Pirates of the Caribbean _scene, and the twins were starting to feel a little left out, so they decided to join in (thanking Primus that they hadn't been searched upon entering the dam, or when they were captured by S-7 in the first place) by drawing their own, more advanced guns and training them on two random S-7 agents. Everyone stared at them.

"What?" Sideswipe asked. "Can't be too careful. This _is_ a free country, after all. Everyone has guns!"

A dubious S-7 agent snorted. "Do those even work? They look like toys!" It didn't help that the one who said that was the one who was currently being held under gun point by Sunstreaker, who grinned maliciously. He moved his arm to the left and shot at the table next to the agent, the ball of plasma quickly disintegrating the piece of table it hit. Needless to say, they didn't doubt it after that.

"Right then…" Simmons muttered, and then remembered his current position. "Whoa, drop your weapon soldier. We're in the middle of an alien war and you're gonna shoot me?" he asked, trying to keep his cool.

Lennox pushed the gun further into his chest. "We didn't ask to be here," the captain said coolly.

"I'm ordering you under S-7 jurisdiction-"

"S-7 don't exist!" Epps supplied helpfully from his position where he was keeping yet another agent at bay.

"That's right, and we don't take orders from people who don't exist," Lennox added harshly.

"I'm going to count to five-" Simmons tried again but was, as always, interrupted.

"Well I'm gonna count to three," Lennox informed him, clicking back the safety of the gun.

"Simmons?" the Sec Def asked. "I would do what he says. Losing's really not an option for these guys," he advised, nodding towards the soldiers.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Simmons put his hands up slightly in surrender. "Ok, fine. If you want to lay the fate of the world on the kid's Camaro, that's cool."

Simmons led the group through the labyrinth of tunnels and labs until they could hear the sounds of tortured, mechanical screaming. The teenagers bolted off in the direction of the sound, until they found the room Bumblebee was in. What they saw horrified them: men were freezing Bumblebee who was strapped to the slab, probably preparing him for some experiment, while at the same time, shocking him with electricity with a crude device that looked like something right out of a horror film.

"Stop, stop!" Sam screamed, and forced the men to put their tools down. The twins jumped up to the platform and Bumblebee sat up, his arm transforming into his plasma cannon and his battle mask dropping down over his eyes. The little sparkling cowered on Sunstreaker's shoulder, chirping frantically. "Bee! Calm down, it's us! We've come to rescue you!" Sideswipe said quickly, as Bumblebee was pointing his spinning cannon at different agents frantically.

"Oh, that's just Keller and Banachek, they're friendly, they won't kill you. We know S-7 hurt you, but they're not going to do it again, and if they do, you have our permission to shoot them," Sunstreaker supplied helpfully, noticing with glee how the men's faces paled dramatically. That seemed to do the trick, because the cannon stopped spinning quite as fast and the battle mask retracted.

"Bee!" Sam said, jumping on the platform beside the twins, not bothering to ask how they knew the yellow Autobot. "The cube is here, Megatron is in the other hangar, we've gotta hurry!"

Bumblebee stood up and rushed out of the room, obviously keying into the Allspark's energy signature and chasing after it. The others had to run to keep up, but that didn't stop Sideswipe from trying to have a conversation.

"You need a name," he pointed to the little bot who was still on Sunstreaker's shoulder.

"Peter?" Epps breathed, running along beside them, trying to keep the yellow 'bot in his sight. Sideswipe shook his head.

"Thomas? Alex?" Lennox suggested, albeit unhelpfully. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker screwed up their faces.

"What the hell are you guys on?" Sideswipe panted slightly as he skidded around another corner. "Nah, what about Nokiabot, or SMS? Oh! I know, what about Sideswipe jr?"

They all skidded to a sudden stop in the Allspark hangar. Sunstreaker looked at is twin as if he was crazy. "Are you an idiot?" He asked but then stopped. "Wait, don't answer that… hey, how about Nox?" the sparkling on his shoulder nodded frantically and chittered happily. 'There you go, your name is Nox."

"I still liked Sideswipe jr. better…" Sideswipe mumbled, but didn't complain too much because Bumblebee had made it to the Allspark. The yellow 'bot made a noise of complete awe, before touching the massive corner. There was a bright flash and the Allspark was briefly illuminated but bright squares.

"Aw, he's doing something, he's doing something!" Epps exclaimed. Then, one of the most miraculous things everyone there had ever seen, happened. The cube started folding in on itself, until it was small enough to fit in Bumblebee's hand. He flicked the cube to get it to fold in faster when it got to the final stages.

"~_Message from Starfleet captain __Let's get to it!~"_ Bumblebee told them using the radio waves.

"He's right," the brunette soldier intoned. "If we stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hanger. Mission City is 22 miles away, we're going to sneak that cube out of here and hide it somewhere in the city." The twins thought this plan wasn't very well thought out, considering Mission City was a widely populated area, but as it was the only plan they had, they decided to go along with it.

"Right, good," Keller said, relieved that _someone_ had a plan.

"But we can't make a stand without the Air Force."

"This place must have some sort of radio link!" Keller exclaimed to Simmons. "Shortwaves! CB!"

"Right, yes!" Simmons shouted, nodding his head.

"Sir, you gotta find some way to get word out to them," Lennox informed them. "Let's move."

* * *

><p><strong>Listening to: Tonight, Tonight, <em>Hot Chelle Rae<em>**

**That chapter was fun to write :) I don't know why, maybe 'cause it had the twins getting up the S-7 agents. Oh, and two things-**

**_IMPORTANT_: I won't be able to update next week, and maybe even the week after. I'll be on the Sunny Coast (sunshine coast for all of you non-queenslanders) for a couple of days, and then on to Brisbane for Christmas. We're gonna be driving, which is gonna suck because with the amount of roadworks going on between here and Brissy, the normally ten hour drive will turn into a twelve hour drive. But that leads me onto my second thing...**

**_IMPORTANT_ (2): -though- not as important as the first- during said road trip, I will have more than enough time to work on some of my stories. I've got a couple I want to post, but I need to see which one you guys will want (if you want to read it). The options are: Transformers SunnyxOcxSides, Three different Harry Potter stories, a Stoked and Percy Jackson Crossover, a Lord of the Rings story, and a FAX Maximum Ride story. I can put the summaries up on the profile if anyone asks.**

**Anyway, that's all out of the way. I wish you all a Merry Christmas if I don't update before then :D**

**- Greentree Frog**


	6. Real World

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! And, oh, what's this? An update? LE GASP! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but life has been kinda hectic (christmas, helping my aunts move, ect). I'm still in Brisbane, and I don't fly home 'till the 6th, so I won't be able to right as much as I want to. How was everyone's christmas? Got any new year's resolutions? Mine are to practise Sax and Piano more.**

**xxx**

_**MissShelz:**_**thank you, and I am having a great trip, it's been fun catching up with the family. And as you are the only one who said anything about what story I post next, your wish will come true! I will be posting the SunnyxOCxSides story some time after Valentine's day, so keep an eye out! Thanks for your review :D**

_**WestAero13:**_**don't worry, there's plenty enough brotherly love and some angst in this chapter, though next chapter is gonna be filled with all that stuff, along with them and the Autobots talking, bonding, ect. And Sides is a loveable idiot... kinda reminds me of a teddy ;)**

**xxx**

**So, after this chapter, there's one more of the first movie, and then onto the 'Familiar Strangers' arc (which I'm sure you're all gonna love). Next chapter is gonna be pretty intense as well, because, well... you gotta read this chapter, and it also will tell you the _real_ reason why the Autobots raised the twins (and it wasn't because Ratchet thought they were cute). Plenty of angst, fluff and drama in this chapter and next, so be prepared!**

**Listening to: New Divide, Linkin Park**

* * *

><p>The next few minutes were a blur as the twins were shoved into Bumblebee with Sam, Mikaela and the cube, quickly escaping the hoover dam base. There was an awkward silence after all the scrambling, Mikaela and Sam obviously wanting to pelt the twins with questions.<p>

Although they didn't particularly feel like answering questions, they knew it was inevitable. "Go ahead," Sideswipe muttered, breaking the silence, "We know you want to ask."

The first question that came out of the brunette teenager's mouth was the most obvious. "How do you know about the transformers?"

Sunstreaker sighed before answering; making sure the cube was secured by Bumblebee's seatbelt. "Seventeen years ago, a special ops team of Autobots arrived on earth. They had specified a set of co-ordinates for their rendezvous point. The first to arrive at the co-ordinates which happened to be an abandoned alley was the medic. He was going to slip into recharge –their sleep- when he picked up a life form from the bottom of a dumpster. The medic –who you have probably guessed Ratchet- found a set of twins abandoned at the bottom. The others arrived, and after a little deliberation, they decided to take them in. The end product is what you see before you," he explained, gesturing between himself and Sideswipe.

The other teens nodded slowly, taking it in. "So you and Xan-" Mikaela started but was interrupted.

"Call me Sideswipe, and him Sunstreaker," Sideswipe intoned, "We respond better to those name and if we're…" he drifted off. They were all nervous about what was about to happen, the battle that would inevitably come.

Landscape zoomed by and all four teens stared out the window, mentally preparing themselves. It was then that they saw the semitrailer heading in their direction, followed by an odd envoy of cars. "It's Optimus!" The outburst was unneeded from the brunette but definitely not unwanted. They all felt relieved with the presence of Prime and the rest of the Autobots. Smoke came out from underneath the truck as it slid in a handbrake turn, and somehow ending last in the procession of vehicles.

"Bumblebee, have you commed the others and told them the situation?" Sideswipe asked, once again serious and responsible. In his mind, there were times to act like a complete goofball and times to grow up and do what's right. Sam and Mikaela were surprised to see this side of him, but Sunstreaker knew he had it in him. '_Maybe he'll grow up after this…' _he thought but then mentally shook his head, '_If he's not an idiot, he's not Sides.' _In his mind, the yellow tip twin heard his brother say 'thanks bro', with a twinge of sarcasm. He had to smirk at that.

"~_Already ahead of you~"_ came the reply from the radio. The line was from a movie, but none of the teens could figure out which one.

The sound of sirens greeted their ears and Sam turned around in his seat to look out of the window. "Crap, it's the same cop!" The twins turned around to look and saw Sam was telling the truth. The cop car that had been chasing them the previous day was once again on their tail. '_Can this day get any worse?'_ Sideswipe thought, rubbing his head. Nox scurried from where he was sleeping in Sunstreaker's pocket onto Sideswipe's shoulder and curled up under his neck. The silver sparkling chirped cutely but in a reassuring way, his red optics wide. Sides relaxed a little, but didn't completely sink back into the seat until his twin put a hand on his shoulder, sensing his anxiety.

"Block him, block him!" Optimus and the others did just that, zooming in front of the demonic cop car. They were just about on the home stretch to the city when a big crash stole their attention. A massive mine clearer was using its fork to lift cars up and throw them to the side. The vehicle was extremely out of place on the freeway, creating havoc and explosions everywhere, leaving no doubt it was a decepticon. It transformed and smashed through a bus, the explosion that followed was loud and flames now were littered on the Decepticreep's armour. Prime transformed and started to fight the thing. When they rounded the corner in Bumblebee, they lost sight of the two.

During all of this, the twins were gripping the seats tightly and though their faces showed no expression, they were both terrified inside. There was no doubt about it now- there will be a battle, and it will take lives.

When they finally stopped in mission city, it was a flurry of activity. The soldiers cleared out a pawn shop and set it up as their base of operation. The twins followed the soldiers to help them out. They found Lennox talking to Epps, handing him some radios.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" the dark skinned man asked with disbelief colouring his voice.

Lennox looked at Epps before replying quickly "They're radios. Use them." The response was slightly sarcastic. The twins stared at the radios in Epps' hands as if they were fossils. To them, they were. Nox chirped curiously, now sitting up on Sideswipe's shoulder, but otherwise stayed put.

"These are like Radio shack dinosaur man-"

"Give them here," was all the warning Epps got before Sunstreaker snatched the radios straight out of his hands. Working quickly, he took them over to a counter, Sideswipe passing him a screwdriver he found under the cash register. They both took apart the casings and rapidly worked on the interior. Once they were both satisfied, the casing was screwed back on and the radios were handed back to Epps. All of this took place in about thirty seconds. "We rewired them so now they can pick up the public Autobot comm signal and increased the range to around fifty miles." That was the explanation to the curious stares.

"And all of that with only a screwdriver, some copper shards that we conveniently found and our wits," Sideswipe interjected proudly.

Both Lennox and Epps looked like they wanted to say something, but the captain shook his head. "Questions later, we have to get ready." The others nodded in agreement. They ran outside crouching behind cars and other various shield like objects.

The twins stood behind a Furby truck in silence, waiting. That was, until, Sideswipe decided to open his mouth. "Sunny… if I don't make it, I want you to know that you're the best brother in the world, and I love you." His eyes were anxious and scared, mirroring his brother's perfectly.

Sunstreaker, having the same fears as his brother, grabbed Sideswipe for a quick, but emotional embrace. "Love you too, Siders."

"IT'S STARSCREAM!" Ironhide's shout made the twins jump apart quickly, glancing up at the sky. The ground around them shook slightly as Bumblebee and the weapons specialist ran towards the truck they were standing behind. "Back up, back up!" The twins heeded the command, and started running as the two lifted up the truck. There was the sound of cannons firing, and then-

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

The scream of pain was the worst nightmare of the other brother. The injured twin had failed to get behind something quick enough, and had flown through the air painfully, landing on the ground with hot rocks and road landing on him.

"NO!" The relatively uninjured twin (who had gotten a few scrapes and bruises from the explosion) ran to his brother, clearing away the rocks and rubble from his body. He had a large gash on his forehead and was wheezing slightly. Burns covered some of his arms, where the gloves and shirt didn't cover them. They weren't third degree, but they looked painful. Little scratches made spots on his shirt and jeans slightly red and torn. "No…" He whispered again, lifting his head onto his lap. Bright blue eyes opened slowly and looked blearily at his brother.

"S'alright, bro," Sideswipe said hoarsely, trying to sit up more before wincing. "Cracked rib," he muttered. Sunstreaker helped him to his feet slowly, hyper-aware of his brother's injuries, trying to minimize the pain. The red-tipped twin leaned most of his weight on Sunstreaker, before gradually standing on his own. His twin fussed around him, and he smiled (albeit a bit painfully) at the concern his brother showed. Thick, hot blood started to drip in his eye, so he wiped it out, unintentionally stretching the skin around the wound. He let out a hiss of pain, one that Sunny didn't miss. Nox scurried over, having been thrown off Sideswipe's shoulder during the blast. The silver bot climbed lightly up Sideswipe's jeans, transforming when he reached the right pocket and quivering slightly.

They hobbled over to Bumblebee together, where they could be relatively safe. The sight that greeted them, however, was heart-wrenching. Sam was standing in front of Bumblebee almost in tears. The bot himself was holding himself up from the ground using his arms, his legs from the knee-joint down were blown off. There was pain in his baby-blue optics, until it dimmed when he shut his pain receptors off. The injured mech and twin both gasped when they saw each other, saddened that the other had been injured this early in the fight.

The next few minutes were fuzzy for Sideswipe, who was probably losing a little too much blood. He knew they found a tow truck, which Mikaela hotwired, and they had started to strap Bee to it. Sights, smells and sounds were blending together, twisting reality. He only snapped into proper awareness when Lennox approached their small group.

"Where's the cube?" he asked them and Sunstreaker pointed in the general direction of the Cybertronian artefact. "Sam! Get over here!" Despite that the soldier only asked for Sam, Sunny and Sides also approached him. "You see that building over there with the white statues on the roof?" he asked the brunette teen once he got to them. "I want you to run up there with the cube, smash the end of this flare to signal the Blackhawk to pick up the cube." He handed Sam the cube and a flare and shoved him the direction of the mentioned building, despite Sam's protests.

"B-but I can't-"

Lennox, having no time for hesitations grabbed Sam's shirt to pull him down to his level (Sam was standing on the bed of the tow truck). "Listen kid, you're a soldier now!" Sam gulped, looking into Lennox's ferocious eyes, before nodding.

"We'll cover you, Sam," Ratchet said, making the blade of his saw spin threateningly.

Sideswipe nodded. "So will we," he added. Sunstreaker looked at him like he was going to object, along the lines of 'you're injured', but the look on his brother's face stopped him. There was so much determination and confidence in his eyes, that Sunstreaker had to believe him.

"Fine."

And so they started running, Sideswipe pushing through the pain, trying to ignore the stabs in his chest. As they ran, bullets went past them, landing in the pavement and the road, chucking rock and bitumen at them. There was the scream of something going really fast, like a missile, and the ground shook as Ironhide leapt over them to shield the group from what came to harm them.

"Run Sam! Get to the… building!" Ironhide yelled in slight pain, before running off to battle more decepticons.

The group ran even faster, but Sam stumbled, and in that moment, he dropped the cube, the energy going to six things. Some went to a passing car, a mountain dew machine and a X-Box 360. Some went to Sunstreaker's pocket, to his iPhone (Sideswipe's was damaged beyond repair) and the rest seemed to disappear in thin air, the twins having no idea where it went. Nox, who had transformed when he briefly felt the allspark energy, ran up to clutch at Sideswipe's shoulder. He screamed high-pitched chirps into his ear, warning him of the X-Box (now X-Bot) who had scurried past them quickly. There was a sound from Sunstreaker's pocket and a sparkling who seemed comprised of iPhone parts, ran under Sunstreaker's shirt. They had no time to worry about the new bots, because:

One, they had to keep running from the decepticons and get the cube to safety,

Two, the mountain dew vending machine transformed and started shooting cans of soft-drink at everyone in sight, and

Three, not only being shot at with soft-drink, but also deadly bullets of plasma and other such types from the insides of Decepticons guns makes you want to run really, _really_ fast.

Sideswipe winced but put on a burst of speed, the pain just a message telling him he was still alive. At last they made it inside the building that they were aiming for, but it really was of no relief.

"_I SMELL YOU… FLESSSSHLINGSSSS!"_ The voice was harsh and it sent shivers up Sideswipe's spine. He stumbled and almost fell flat on his face, but Sunstreaker noticed and gripped his forearm before he could fall. The cynical twin was growing increasingly concerned for his brother and extremely worried he wouldn't come out of this alive. His breathing was becoming ever more ragged while they ran and his stumbles more frequent. They ran further into the building and finally reached a flight of stairs.

"Slag," Sunstreaker muttered but started up the stairs, grabbing his brother's hand to help him. "Keep running," he muttered and his twin nodded. Sam was trailing behind slightly but sped up when they heard a large crash. They ran even faster when they heard the sound of giant footsteps.

The floor beneath them cracked and soon the floorboards where flying everywhere. "Slaging, glitching, motherfragger-" Sides yelled when a giant hand came their way. Sam stumbled but Sunstreaker pushed him with his free hand.

"Run Sam!" They had reached another set of stairs, one that seemed to go on forever. Just one at a time, Sideswipe told himself as he winced once again in pain. His chest felt like it was collapsing –it probably was- and all this running and screaming wasn't helping. He felt his brother squeeze his hand when he faltered and he squeezed back. '_I've got to keep going… for Sunny…'_

About halfway to the top, Sideswipe slipped and put his free out so he wouldn't be knocked out on the stairs. This proved to be a bit of a mistake, though while stopping him from getting a concussion, the one hand was not strong enough to hold his own body weight, and therefore it was sprained. Sunstreaker ran to his step, his hand still holding Sideswipe's other hand and pulled him back up. The red-tipped twin was panting unevenly and there was even a drop of blood at the corner of his mouth. "I-it's alright Sunn-ny. I can keep going." Sunstreaker was very much doubtful of that, but there was no stopping now. As if to prove this point, there was another yell.

"_FLESHLINGSSS!" _

"C'mon, we have to move!" Sam told the twins and started moving again. For Sam to see what had just happened was a big shock to the system to him. The twins always seemed so graceful, so untouchable, so… invincible. Before that day, Sam had never seen Sunstreaker show so many different emotions, and now he was seeing determination, concern, anger and even fear. Sideswipe likewise, while he was popular and funny, he never let anyone _close _to him, as if there was a shield. He never showed any weakness or seemed so serious and yet here he was, in pain yet making them all keep on going. It was an eye-opening experience for Sam, and for the first time, he saw the twins as human beings.

Through all his musing, Sam didn't notice when he finally sprinted to the top. The only thing that shook him out of it was the bright sun blinding him for a second before his eyes adjusted. The twins were following him a couple of meters away, and Sunstreaker gestured to Sam's left hand, which held the flare. 'Oh, right.'

Still sprinting, he smashed the end of the flare against the wall and it ignited in a series of red sparks. "HEEEY!" Sam screamed, holding up the flare high and still running, trying to get the Blackhawk's attention. "HEEEEEEEY!" They all ran and ran, pushing clothes, boxes various other obstacles out of the way, sometimes jumping over them instead. Without noticing, they had all reached the edge and had to physically stop themselves from running off. With arms flailing, the three teens stepped back a couple of steps, and it was a good thing they did too.

The _whup whup _of a helicopter's blades were heard before it rose to meet them. A soldier reached out to grab the cube and Sam stretched to try and get the Allspark to him, but the distance was just a little too far between them and Sam didn't want to risk throwing the cube to him. Sunstreaker heard a shot the same time Sideswipe did and their eyes widened in unison.

"GET DOWN!" They screamed together, seeing the missile coming their way. Sam whipped his arms back to his chest and rolled into a ball. The missile struck the chopper that was covering the Blackhawk Sam just tried to deliver the cube to. It hit and made it spin out of control, making it crash against the Blackhawk. The Blackhawk spiralled towards them, the tail missing them by centimeters.

As soon as they were clear of the tail, the teens stood up and started their sprinting again. Sweat rolled down Sideswipe's head as breathing his breathing became more laboured. Despite how he felt and all his determination, he knew that he couldn't keep going like this for much longer. He was starting to fear he wouldn't come out of this alive. Just as he was about to fall again, Sideswipe received a foreign burst of energy. It refreshed him a little and gave him what he needed to keep going. Instinctively, he sent a little nudge in his mind towards where the energy came from and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sunstreaker stumble.

It seemed they were not going fast enough, because Megatron had caught up to them. Sam climbed onto the edge of a statue with the cube wedged between his chest and the stone. "Oh no, no no no no…" the brunette muttered as he looked down. The twins had followed him, and now they were all grabbing onto the small ledge the statue provided high above the ground. They could hear the sirens below, _far _below.

"Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshies?" the dark voice hissed and Sam cursed under his breath again, the twins tensing up beside him. "Give me the Allspark, and you can all live to be my petsss."

"We will never, ever give you this Allspark, even if Unicron himself was heading to Earth and you were the only one who could save us!" Sideswipe yelled, and instantly regretted doing so.

Megatron paused before answering. "A fleshy who knows our stories? This will prove interesting…" and while he said that, he swiped his hand across and knocked the statue making the teens fall to their deaths.

"AAAAAAHHHH-"

They were caught by something, something hard. It winded all three, and Sideswipe momentarily saw blackness. "I got you, boys," Optimus' deep, reassuring voice said. "Hang on!" The mech tucked his hand to his chest plates and then let go of the building. Their descent was for a moment going to plan, but then Megatron jumped off the edge of the building and crashed into Prime, forcing them both to the ground.

They all landed with a _thud_ which shook the ground. Optimus groaned but released the boys that were still curled up at his chest. The three got off the mech in time to see Megatron flicking away some poor, unfortunate soul. "Sam," Optimus started, pulling himself up a little. "if I cannot defeat Megatron, you must push the cube into my chest." The words made the twins suck in a sharp breath. They couldn't lose Optimus, they just couldn't! "Megatron!" Prime yelled, now getting up and facing the leader of the decepticons.

"Prime!" Megatron growled in return. He faced Prime but the teens didn't see anything else because they had just stumbled into a ditch caused by the battles. _CLANKS_ sounded above them a few seconds later, signalling that Optimus and Megatron had begun to fight. Nox and Sunstreaker's iPhone ran out from their hiding places and onto a large, broken pipe.

"Stay here," The twins told the two phone-bots in unison. The sparklings nodded their little heads frantically and Sunny and Sides went to follow Sam. The brunette and the twins climbed up just enough over the ditch to see what was happening and the result was not pleasant. The two leaders were battling it out, and Optimus seemed to be _losing_. Quite badly, too. Sam began cursing under his breath again but the twins seemed like they were having a silent discussion. When they had reached an agreement, they climbed out of the ditch and stood.

"What are you two doing?" Sam asked frantically.

"Helping." The response was so unexpected from Sunstreaker, Sam almost fainted. When the blades appeared out of nowhere on the twins arms, Sam swore he blacked out for a second, because when he opened his eyes again, the twins were already halfway between the ditch and the battling mechs. It was then that Sam came to a decision.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe charged towards the fight, fear filling every fibre of their body, but also courage. The two were forced to split when a giant foot almost stepped on them both. Sideswipe slashed it with his sword, the armour harder to cut through than the earth metals they had tried. Megatron howled in pain and annoyance, but the twins didn't stop there. Sunstreaker grabbed onto an outstretched arm that was going for Prime's throat, and sliced through some of the cables in the wrist joint. Thanks to Ratchet's lessons, the two knew where all the major energon lines wiere in a cybertronian body, and where the armour was weakest, along with where it would hurt when it was cut.

Sunstreaker dropped back down to the ground and landed in a roll. While this was happening, Sideswipe had been slicing through the armour in the leg and had finally reached one of the major energon lines. However, he was stopped from cutting it when he heard a now familiar sound. He and his brother ran from Megatron as fast as they could, the adrenaline helping them the last few meters.

Explosions wracked Megatron's frame, the missiles hitting him continuously, making the silver warrior fall to the ground. He wasn't dead, but he was critically injured. Sam ran past the twins once the jets had finished their rounds dodging their restraining arms. He slowed to a still between the Prime and the Tyrant, looking between the two.

"Sam, put the cube in my chest!" Prime shouted in desperation. The twins shook their heads even though Sam couldn't see them.

"Don't, Sam!" Sideswipe went even so far as to yelling.

But Sam knew what he was going to do, even before he ran between the two mechs. Turning to Megatron, who was trying to crawl to him and take the Allspark, he ran in front him and raised his arms. The cube turned bright red with heat as it was absorbed into Megatron's chest. The twins could literally see the power pouring into the Mech's spark chamber and winced (Sideswipe briefly noted that it was one majorly painful case of heart burn –or spark-burn). Megatron made a sound like he was choking on something, clutching at his chest plates, before falling to the ground. Dead as a doorknob.

It seemed to surreal for Sunstreaker and Sideswipe- one moment there was a battle of epic proportions, one that would have decided the fate of the world. Now though, it was almost silent. That was, until, Optimus stood and walked over to the fallen body. The twins could see regret and pain in his optics, but they could not place why those emotions were there.

"You left me no choice… brother," Prime's voice was laced lightly with grief as he leaned over Megatron and plucked something from his chest.

Brother… Megatron was Optimus' brother? The twins were completely in shock at this revelation. It made sense, though, in a cliché, Hollywood style way. The reason why Optimus knew so much about him, why whenever he spoke of the silver mech, there was always a faint hint of affection in his voice.

Sideswipe became dizzy again, now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Sunstreaker saw this and quickly moved closer to his brother and deactivated his blades. It would be no good for him to accidently stab him while he was trying to help. Sideswipe did the same and leant heavily on his brother. Was it his imagination, or was it getting darker? The world was spinning slightly beneath his feet and that was also putting him off. Sunstreaker squeezed his arm in silent reassurance that he was there.

"Sam, you risked your life to protect the cube," Optimus said, speaking to the human with distinct awe in his deep, story-telling voice.

"No sacrifice," Sam said to the leader, "No victory."

Optimus bowed his head and then turned to the twins. "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe… " There were no words needed to be spoken. The two shuffled awkwardly to him and both wrapped an arm around his leg in an attempt of a hug. They only released him when they heard the other soldiers, both human and autobot alike, come towards them.

"Prime," Ironhide called with sorrow. "We couldn't save him."

"Jazz…" Prime whispered. The twin's eyes widened as they turned to look at the split body in Ironhide's arms.

"NO!" Sunstreaker screamed, letting go of his brother and running towards the weapons specialist. Sideswipe would have done the same, if he hadn't started feeling colder and colder. "Jazz! You can't be dead! WAKE UP!" No matter how much he screamed or yelled, Jazz's optics would not come online. Finally, giving up, he sank to his knees, shoulders shaking. Jazz was like a fun uncle, or an older brother to him and Sideswipe. He was the one who helped fuel their love of pranks, the one who showed them that they had other people (or Cybertronians) to rely on than just themselves. Some of their best memories had been with the silver saboteur. Sideswipe was shaking hard (though it might not have all been grief), yet he stayed latched onto Optimus. He didn't have the strength to go over to his brother, or the strength to scream. The adrenaline had almost all worn off now and the pain in his chest was almost unbearable. Prime lightly picked up Sunstreaker and deposited him back on his feet next to Sideswipe. The two held onto each other tightly, tears streaming down their faces.

"We have lost a great comrade today… a great friend," Prime started and the twins were wracked with a fresh wave of grief. "But we gained new ones. Thank you, all of you."

"Permission to speak, sir," a familiar voice asked, and Sunstreaker faintly noticed that it was the same voice they heard through the comms. The voice was young and it had a British accent.

"Permission granted, old friend."

"Y-you speak now?" Sam asked, proving that he should add 'Captain Obvious' to his list of titles.

"I wish to stay with the boy," Bumblebee proposed though slightly hesitantly.

Prime nodded. "If that is his choice." Sam agreed without any hesitation on his part.

It was at that moment that the world became completely black for Sideswipe, the temperature above cold. With no strength left to hold himself up, he crumpled to the ground. He didn't hear his brother's exclamation, or anyone else's. He didn't even notice when he stooped breathing.

* * *

><p><strong>Listening to: Rolling in the deep, Adele<strong>

**MWAH HAHAHAHAHAAA! You know, I really hate cliffhangers, but they're so much fun to write! The next chapter was fun to write too, but this one was hard. I hate writing action scenes. **

**I was gonna say something, but I think I forgot...**

**Until I remember, GreentreeFrog**


	7. Lying

**Sorry about the late update- I just got back to Mackay on Late Friday night, and wasn't able to update on the weekend or yesterday because of work and other stuff... then I found out that this chapter didn't save properly so I had to write it again from memory? Be prewarned: there was no editing, so expext mistakes and plot-holes are plentiful! I forgot all about the phone bots, so I'll be putting that in next chapter.**

**Is now a bad time to say that in an older version of this story, Jazz actually lived? But then I was reading through it and I had a brilliant idea, but it was only able to work if Jazz died :( but anyway... Familiar Strangers arc starting next chapter, I have a feeling you'll be enjoying it!**

**xxx**

_**Autobot Firekat: **_**thanks for the review :)**

_**MissShelz: **_***evil cackle* you especially will like 'familiar strangers'! Not saying much more than that x) Don't be too worried about him- I can't exactly kill him off not even half way through the story. Thanks for your review, and all of them so far as well!**

_**Annea101: **_**t****hanks for reviewing :D**

_**Becstar311: **_**I loved Jazz too :( and look at what I said to _MissShelz_- I can't exactly kill Sides off, I'd have no story! :D**

_**Navirra:**_**Why thank you, that's what I aim for (sometimes... others its completely unintentional). There's a little cliff-hanger at the end of this one as well, though not as bad as the other one :D**

_**airbender tori b: **_***bows* thanks for the review**

_**marie faust: **_**I seem to be getting a lot of comments about jazz (as expected) ;) Sideswipe's gonna be fine. I won't kill both of them off. Thanks for reviewing**

**_sm1982:_ many thanks for the review, and here is your [late] update! :D**

**xxx**

**Wow, that is quite a few more reviews than I'm used to! Thanks to everyone who reads this story as well, and for the faves and alerts, etc.**

**Listening to: May it Be, _Enya_**

* * *

><p>"Sides… SIDES!" Sunny watched in horror as his twin collapsed and fell to the ground. He ran blindly to his twin, tears still in his eyes from the revelation of Jazz's death. He lifted his twin's head into his lap and as he did so, he realised something with a jolt. "R-Ratchet! He's not breathing!" The response to this was instantaneous. The humans all came running closer to the two, in their minds going through the basic CPR procedures. Ratchet immediately transformed. His alt mode appeared to be a little battered, which was better than some considering the battle they just came out of.<p>

A blonde male jumped out of the hummer's back, slamming the doors to the side. No one had any time to wonder where he had come from, because he had quickly come and lifted Sideswipe easily, putting him on the raised stretcher in the back of the search-and-rescue hummer. Sunstreaker followed quickly, wanting- no, _needing_- to help his brother. Sideswipe was engulfed in a strange blue light, the man who had lifted Sideswipe into the hummer staring at the body.

The blue light turned off and the blonde swore. Sunstreaker jumped and glared accusingly at the man, because he could've sworn that he sounded like-

"Yes, it's me, Ratchet. Quit gaping, I'm going to need your help if you want your brother to live!" the man sharply said.

"What's wrong with him?" Sunstreaker asked weakly, clutching the sides of the metal berth so tightly that his knuckles went white. The doors snapped shut and Sunstreaker felt the vehicle start to move. Human-Ratchet had started sorting through the metal cupboards that adorned the walls around them. He pulled out a syringe, though Sunstreaker could not see its contents, because Ratchet's body was in the way. The medic threw a pair of rubber gloves at Sunstreaker, who just stared at them. Ratchet wasn't wearing them- why should he? But that rebellious thought was quickly washed away when doc-bot (though he was hardly a robot at the moment) glared at him, as if sensing his thoughts.

"In that compartment behind you, there should be an oxygen mask- get it out and put it on Sideswipe." Ratchet's words rang true, and he found the oxygen mask connected to a tank. He strapped the mask to his brother's face, and the tank automatically switched on. "And to answer your previous question," the medic said, unwrapping a needle for the syringe, "he's got a cracked rib which is putting pressure on his right lung, making it almost impossible to breath-" he started screwing the needle onto the syringe, putting and strapping something to the now thankfully breathing (though very unevenly) patient. It looked to Sunstreaker like an IV, but he knew it was probably something completely different thanks to Ratchet's advanced technology.

A screen flipped on, covered in cybertronian symbols and various graphs. The medic took one look at it and swore. "Lacerations near his left hip and thigh, making him lose a pit load of blood, and on top of all of that- a concussion!" Ratchet seemed furious, though Sunny knew it wasn't directed at him. He was scared, more scared than when they had faced Megatron himself. For him to lose his twin… it was painful to think about.

"Stay with me, Sides," Sunny whispered as he pushed his twin's hair away from his forehead. Ratchet was stitching up the cut on his thigh, with extreme precision and speed. "You promised that you'd stay, remember?" It felt like something inside of him was missing with Sideswipe like this, and it was painful and slightly maddening.

Ratchet, who had finished stitching and had bandaged up the leg tightly turned back to the syringe he was fiddling with earlier. "I can't fix his rib until we get back to the dam, and I'm already going as fast as I deem safe with a charge as unstable as Sideswipe." This seemed to upset the CMO but he continued working. Sunstreaker, feeling useless, turned back to the compartments behind him and searched through the contents until he found what he was looking for. Turning to face Sideswipe, Sunstreaker ripped open the packet and drew out the alcohol wipe. Softly, he wiped away the drying blood from his twin's forehead, taking extra care around the gash.

"Do you need any of my blood?" Sunstreaker asked shakily. Anything to help Sideswipe.

Ratchet shook his head and faced Sunny with the syringe in his hand. Inside was a pink liquid, so bright that it was almost glowing. It seemed strangely familiar to the human but couldn't say anything about it, because the medic talked before he could. "That won't be necessary." He lowered the needle to Sideswipe's arm after wiping an area with another alcohol wipe and inserted it into a vein, pushing all the liquid in. The unconscious twin spasmed, and Sunstreaker finally figured out what just went into his brother's system.

"That's-"

The search and rescue hummer stopped and the doors were flung open. Doctors and nurses were already there and helped Ratchet wheel the trolley with Sideswipe out. The screen switched off and Sunstreaker jumped out before the doors could close on him. He figured that Ratchet must have called ahead, because when they got inside and turned down a couple of corridors, there was an medical bay all ready for them. As far as Sunstreaker knew, one does not need to operate on a broken rib, and he was about to comment on it.

"Ratchet-"

"Yes, I know, but on the trip over I noted some glass and rock imbedded deep into his side, going through both skin and muscle. It does not require an operation, but I did not have the equipment I required. I didn't tell you, because I knew you'd worry. Now OUT!" Ratchet shouted, pushing him out of the room. Sunstreaker stared dumbfounded at the closed doors for a moment before cursing his head off at Ratchet, using insults and threats that would have even Ironhide cringing.

He paced outside the door for ages, time seemed like nothing to him. Sunny felt himself collapsing more every second until, finally he had nothing left in him and fell to the ground, burying his head in his hands. He had so many questions that he wanted Ratchet to answer, yet he was still busy with his critically injured twin. How the pit was he able to look and feel human? Why did he inject Sideswipe with-

"Za-Sunstreaker?" Sunny had been so unaware of his surroundings, that he didn't notice the group of humans who had finally arrived. Among them were Sam and Mikaela, Lennox, Epps, and a couple of soldiers. "Are you ok?" Sam asked. The teen himself was covered in dirt, sweat and blood and was limping slightly. The others were only a little better, though some of the soldiers had more noticeable wounds.

"What do you think?" the twin hissed in a dangerous tone. Sam stepped back and put his hands up in the universal 'I surrender' gesture. "Try cutting off your right arm and then see how you feel!" The saying 'if looks could kill' seemed very appropriate in this situation.

"That bad, huh?" Epps asked kindly.

"You have no idea…" Sunny whimpered and let his head fall back into his hands. Both of his soldier acquaintances approached him slowly on either side, as if he was a venomous snake ready to attack. Both reached out to put a hand on each of his shoulders, but the med bay door slammed open and out stormed human-Ratchet. Sunstreaker's head snapped up, waiting for any and all news on his twin.

"Sideswipe… should be fine," Ratchet stated, and Sunny visibly slumped in relief. "I removed all the debris from his side and started realigning the broken ribs, which should now heal at its own pace. Sideswipe lost a lot of blood, but I managed to… replenish it. After a _lot_ of bed rest and no moving around, he should be back to normal." Ratchet's prognosis not only managed to relieve the distraught twin, but also his human friends and acquaintances. The medic studied the others briefly before stepping out of the doorway. "Most of you need patching up, come inside-"

"Hold up!" The shout came from a female, her voice and accent unique to the area, leaving no doubt as to who it was. Maggie, Simmons, Keller and Glenn (the last who was puffing a lot) skidded to a stop in front of the group. "Where is everyone else?" the Australian asked, looking around the area for the non-existent 'others'.

"They should all be in the former Allspark hanger, with my comrades, the Autobots," Ratchet answered her smoothly and the four stared at him.

"Who are you?" Simmons asked rudely, raising an eyebrow. "Never seen you before in my life." The agent's obnoxious tone caused Sunstreaker's skin to crawl when he looked at the man. Something about him just irked him, even now he was 'trusted'. Mind you, Sunstreaker still hadn't forgiven him for abducting him and Sideswipe. And now that his mind was back on that subject…

"Why did you inject him with-" Sunstreaker tried asking Ratchet but the medic knowing the question before it was asked interrupted once again. It seemed to be a habit of his.

"Because it was necessary!" Ratchet all but screamed and Sunstreaker arched two dark eyebrows.

"But I thought you said it was toxic to humans!" This had been troubling him ever since he figured out what was injected into his brother.

The other humans watched the two like it was an exciting tennis match though they had no clue of what the two were arguing about.

"It is!"

"Then why-"

"Because you two are different!" Ratchet finally snapped and Sunstreaker stood up, shocked at first, but then anger replaced that.

"Yeah, people have been saying that about us our whole lives, but not in so many words!" Ratchet recoiled at the admission. The twins never spoke about their school problems with the Autobots, in fact, they hardly ever talked about school at all. If they spoke about it at all, the twins would say 'ah, it's all good', or 'it's going great!' The truth was, while they were 'popular', the twins were talked about behind their backs, and they were aware of it even in primary school. Mostly it was just their 'oddness' or the fact they were abandoned that people whispered about, but as they grew older, the rumours and insults harsher and the two started to care more. Sideswipe hid his hurt behind a mask of carefreeness, pretending to be the hilarious, class clown. Sunstreaker, however, built walls of indifference and showed a cold personality to all but his twin. Sam and Mikaela were more or less aware of the whispers and though they did not contribute to them, they didn't stand up for the twins in front of their friends.

The medic took in a deep breath, comming Prime and Ironhide about what he found out, the two Cybertronians assuring that they would be on the scene in a minute "Why didn't you say anything?" Though the conversation started getting personal, the others only moved to let medics through with stretchers carrying the injured. It was almost like a car crash. They wanted to look away but they were just riveted to the sight.

"Because-"

"Because Sunstreaker and Sideswipe rely only on each other with issues like this, and to them, that's enough." Really, was everyone going to interrupt him? Now Ironhide was doing it… wait- Ironhide?

Sunstreaker turned in the direction of the voice and saw two men walking towards the group. The who Ironhide's voice came from was shorter than his companion, but made up height with muscle. His nose was flat and crooked, like it had been broken multiple times, and his face was scarred in many places. His lips were downturned in a slight scowl which seemed natural while his dark brown hair was straight and fell slightly into his ice blue eyes. The man wore full army outfit- cargo pants, large, padded jacket and combat boots. What made his outfit different to the others was the colour- black instead of the camo pattern made him seem all the more menacing, the only difference being in the bright silver of his dog tags which were shown around his neck. He was downright threatening, and immediately everyone registered that this man was not someone to mess with.

The other was very tall, reaching almost 6'7". He was younger than his friend, seeming almost in his early thirties, while the first was in his late forties, early fifties. His royal blue eyes were kinder but had a strange depth to them which spoke of both wisdom and hardship. Spiky black hair covered his head but kept clear of his eyes and forehead. He wore slightly worn jeans that were tucked into black combat boots, a dark blue button-up shirt which was left open covered up a red sweatshirt that had a black Autobot symbol on it. It reminded Sunstreaker of-

"Ironhide," Optimus' voice scolded the black-clad soldier from the body of the tall man, as the two approached him.

"H-how?" The two humans really did remind Sunstreaker of Ironhide and Prime, but how were they human (and Ratchet too, for that matter)?

"That's not really important, I'll explain it later," Ratchet dismissed. "Now I can talk to you with Ironhide and Optimus, _alone_," he put an emphasis on the last part, and everyone else watching took the hint.

"Whoa, wait! Are you Ironhide as in big, black, bad-ass weapons specialist Ironhide who turns into a giant robot?" Sam asked, making the connection for the first time. Mikaela, Epps and Lennox also stopped from their retreat, curious.

"Affirmative," the black soldier confirmed with Ironhide's gravelly voice. "Now get going, you four, we need to talk to the youngling." There was a tone of threat in his voice and the others heard it, running into the med-bay to get their wounds treated. The weapons specialist grabbed Sunny's forearm and dragged him down the hall, the other Autobots following. No matter how much the twin struggled, Ironhide's grip remained firm. They finally ended up in a room filled with tools of all kinds, it was the dream workshop of many.

"Now youngling," Optimus said, "Ratchet will explain to you the _real_ reason we didn't hand you over to the authorities when we found you seventeen years ago. Sunstreaker froze for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"When I first scanned you," Ratchet started, "I found there were several abnormalities in your blood. You did not have the required amount of white blood cells that was healthy. Instead, there was energon." The medic paused, letting that sink in. "From what I had downloaded, I knew that human's blood did not contain energon. So instead of handing you two in, I informed Prime of my findings and we decided to raise you, in order to monitor the energon levels in your blood.

"By the time you were seven, all of your white blood cells were completely obliterated, and in it's place, energon. Yet your bodies continued to function normally, with only your increased agility and speed to show for it. Shortly after that, the energon started demolishing your red blood cells. Because energon is more acidic than human blood, your veins and arteries began to collapse, before the energon coated them to make them thicker and tougher, but in doing that, the energon changed in appearance slightly. While it may seem you bleed human blood, it is actually energon. I've noticed recently that it's now started on your heart, making it more efficient, but changing it in ways that I cannot tell yet.

"Yet that is not the strangest part. You see, all energon, like blood, is different, which helps tell the differences between all Cybertronians. Yet yours and Sideswipe's 'blood' is _exactly the same_." Sunstreaker processed all of this shocking information to come out with one conclusion.

His voice shook with both anger and slight depression. "Y-you mean to say… you only kept me and Sides for you own personal… _pet science project?_" The harsh tone made the three intimidating (even as humans) Autobots cringe and back-track slightly.

"That's not what- hey youngling!" Ironhide tried but Sunstreaker had already stormed out of the room.

He could feel the tears from rejection running down his face yet Sunny ignored them, and everyone else who he passed in the hallway. His cool behaviour practically chilled the med bay by twenty degrees when he entered and everyone managed to keep their distance (though it was not far enough). Sunstreaker stormed to the berth that held his brother and plopped down onto the chair next to him, feeling like he had nothing left in him. The teen grabbed Sideswipe's hand in his own and squeezed tightly. His brother was his only source of comfort, but he was unconscious and injured. To the cynical twin's absolute surprise, his brother squeezed his hand back, albeit weakly.

Sideswipe felt someone squeezing his hand, and that someone could only be Sunny. He squeezed back as hard as he could (though it wasn't very hard at all). The boy opened his eyes slowly, letting the light filter in. His surroundings were unfamiliar and he was about to ask his twin about it, but one look at his face spoke volumes. "What's… wrong, S-Sunshine?" Sunny seemed different to him, like he had heard something horrifying or life-changing and would never be the same.

Sunny tried to glare at him but it didn't have the normal heat behind it. He was just glad his brother was awake. "You know, if you weren't critically injured and hooked up to an IV, I would beat you up for calling me that," the yellow-tipped twin informed him seriously, squeezing his hand again. Sideswipe gave him a _look_, so Sunstreaker backtracked a bit. "It's just, everything piling up. I mean, first finding the Allspark, then everyone getting dragged into battle, losing Jazz, almost losing _you_, and now…" he trailed off, looking more depressed than before he started.

"Now what?" Sideswipe urged gently and Sunstreaker stared into eyes identical to his own. He spilled everything that happened since Sides stopped breathing, not even leaving out the part at the end when he stormed away from the three Autobots before they could finish explaining.

"I just… how could they do that to us, Sides?" Sunny finally finished. "And not to tell us all the important stuff that _might_ have been good to know if we suddenly drop dead 'cause our bodies weren't working properly?" Sideswipe had sat in silence through his twin's recount, nodding and squeezing Sunny's hand in all of the appropriate places. He sat contemplating all that he learned in the same quiet, and Sunstreaker worried that while he _heard_ what he told him, he didn't _listen._

"I think… they were trying to protect us," Sideswipe said after a while, making Sunny look lost. "I mean," he elaborated, "J-Jazz (he stuttered over the name, the fact he was de- offline not sinking in) would've told us if we were about to die or go into a coma or something. They just (he took a shaky breath, his rib making it hard to talk) wanted us to have a relatively normal childhood. We wouldn't have had one if we were constantly worrying about the fact energon was replacing our blood, and if they sent us into a foster home or something, doctors would've noticed something was different and sent us off to be studied under a microscope." The more Sunstreaker thought about it, the more Sideswipe's words rang true.

"Still," he huffed, crossing his tanned arms across his chest like a kid, "they should have told us sooner! I'm not talking to them."

Sideswipe raised an eyebrow. "The silent treatment is a bit ch-ch-ch-childish," he yawned, wincing as his lung pushed against his rib. He brought the covers of the berth up to his chin with his free hand, closing his eyes. Sunstreaker stayed by his side until he fell back asleep and even then he would not leave.

* * *

><p>True to his word, Sunstreaker did not talk to the Autobots for a whole week (and was still going strong), even going so far as to avoid them entirely (which was easier said than done). Sideswipe, however, went out of his way to talk to Ratchet when he came over to do check-ups. Ironhide also occasionally came in to complain to Ratchet about something, and Sideswipe talked to him when he was nursing bruises from flying wrenches (because while they were holoforms, they could still feel pain), but after the first few visits, Ironhide got a clue and stopped coming to whine. They rarely ever saw Optimus, because he was always in meetings with different heads of governments, trying to set up some sort of alliance and come to an agreement. Instead, Sam and Mikaela, and sometimes Will and Robert kept them company. Sam kept pestering the two with questions ('Where did your blades come from'… 'How come the Autobots look human'… 'What was it like growing up with the Autobots'). Sunstreaker had answered the first one by activating one of his blades and hovering it right in front of Sam's throat, threateningly ('if you ask one more question, I swear…').<p>

Mikaela was more interested in the personalities of the bots when they weren't surrounded by humans or had an important mission to complete. It was entertaining telling her and Lennox and Epps about the different times they had, sometimes funny stories, and others, fluffy family fun (Sideswipe did all the talking, Sunstreaker just sat and glared at a wall). One day, Lennox and Epps had begged -though they wouldn't call it 'begging', per se- to show them his cannons in action, without them being fired at decepticons who wanted to destroy the whole planet. Holoform-Ironhide had led the two out to a separate hanger, where his real body was waiting. The soldiers came back, grinning and bouncing around like kids who had just eaten a bucket-load of sugar at a fair-ground.

One individual, however, spent his time researching and checking facts. He had overheard the twins' conversation in the med bay a week ago, and had decided to do something about it. He was close to making a breakthrough with his research, but had decided not to tell the twins until he was absolutely positive (and had figured out an appropriate price for all the trouble he went through).

Another week had passed and all of the soldiers and civilians were allowed to go home, all sworn to secrecy. Bumblebee had gone with Sam, and it was one less person for Sides to talk to (Sunny still treating them with silence). Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were stuck at Hoover Dam, having no home to go to. Much to their delight, their cars were delivered and were sitting in a hanger close to the med-bay. Negotiations were almost closed, but it was confirmed that there would be an Autobot-human alliance, and the Cybertronians would get a permanent base of operations where they can interact with humans as well –the location was as of yet undecided. The subject of the twin's guardianship was still in negotiation, but those were troubled waters. At the end of the week, Sideswipe was finally permitted to move about, but under strict orders from Ratchet to take it easy.

The first thing he did was go with Sunstreaker to see their cars. Sides wasn't well enough to drive yet, but Sunny allowed him to ride with him as he took his car for a quick couple of laps around ther hanger. It was the most fun the red-tipped twin had in ages. Being stuck in bed had left him with more than enough time to brood, especially about Jazz's death. That was still a sore topic for the both of them, so they avoided talking about the Saboteur.

When Prime came into the med bay the next day and told the twins they were allowed of base, Sunny and Sides jumped at the chance (Sunny managing to not say a word to the leader). Sideswipe jumped into his own car and started the engine. Ratchet who was passing by, scowled but otherwise didn't say anything. Sunstreaker started his own engine and followed his brother out of the dam. They were last in the procession of vehicles, zooming across the state. Sunny kept strict surveillance on his brother in case he dropped in speed by even a couple of miles. But Sideswipe made it to the outcrop they were led to without stopping. Bumblebee was already there, Sam and Mikaela lying on his hood. The two parked on either side of them and stepped out. Sideswipe staggered slight over to Sunny and sat down on his car's hood. For once, Sunny did not complain about the paint job. He sat next to his twin and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Reckon Bee appreciates his new job as a lounge?" Sides whispered into Sunny's ear. Said twin looked beside him and saw Mikaela straddling Sam, the brunette's hands on her waist. Sunstreaker quickly turned away as Sideswipe sniggered at the horrified look on his face. Yellow pushed red gently in revenge, ever mindful of his condition.

"Jerk." The twins watched as Optimus transformed and stood on the edge of their little outcrop, looking over the scenery, a beautiful sunset framing the picture. The two knew he was preparing to send a transmittion to remaining Autobots floating around in space. The semi-trailer transformer put his servos on his hips and gazed at the sky.

"_With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting._"

And both twins fell off the hood of the car as they actually _heard_ the transmission.

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><p><strong>Hehe I love cliff hangers... even though this one is just a ledge rather than a cliff. Hope you all like the twists! This one wasn't as long as the other one, but I hope it lives up to expectations :D<strong>

**Until next time,**

**Greentree Frog**


	8. Galaxy

**Feel free to throw lots of sharp, pointy objects at me (but please try and avoid the face)! I have no excuse for not updating, and I'm sorry. This chapter isn't very long, either, which I also apologise for. I would have made it longer, but I really wanted to post this tonight- I thought it was highly appropriate since I'm started my first day of senior school in year 10 tomorrow. Look at me, mama! I'm a big kid now! Why must the holidays alway fly by? To those who have already started school, because you live in America and England and all those kind of places, how do you cope? **

**I'm not gonna bother to complain about the US government's stupid bill concerning the internet- I know everyone is extremely pissed about it, including me (because I really do love megaupload and the US government are selfish jerks that don't realise that they're affecting eveyone else around the world). All I'm saying, is they have the potential to take down this site, which, in my opinion, would be very, _very_ bad. So really, I am complaining...**

**xxx**

_**sm1982: **_**what would be even more shocking to them is coming up in this chapter! *evil grin* thanks for the review :)**

_**MissShelz: **_**'m planning on making it all into one, big story. I couldn't be bothered with sequals... and I'm glad it cleared some stuff up! But there's gonna be even more mysteries to come soon... Just gonna lull them into a false sense of security, and then... well you get the picture :D thanks**

_**airbender tori b: **_**that pretty much sums it up! Thanks for reviewing :)**

_**WestAero13: **_**I tried giving him a hug, but he held that stupid blade to my neck... I'm seriously regretting giving those to him now. You're welcome to try ;) thanks for the review!**

**xxx**

**Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story and faved and alerted! I've reached almost 2000 hits, which was _way_ better than what I was expecting, so all I can say is thanks**

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><p>The twins sighed in unison, looking up to face their doom. <em>This<em>, was by far more terrifying than facing the decepticons or Megatron himself (and they were speaking from experience). Really, this decision (that the twins had no say in _whatsoever_) was one of the worst things the Autobots could force them to do. Of course, it was needless to say that Sunstreaker was still ignoring them after this. The vain twin would never admit his 'silent-treatment' was immature, no matter what Sideswipe said. However, the conclusion was they _had _to do it, dictated by both the Autobots and the American government. Stupid ultimatums…

Sideswipe, after four weeks of rest, was feeling heaps better and no longer completely relied on his brother. Though that didn't stop Sunstreaker from wrapping his arm around his twin's shoulder, protectively and supportively. The two started up the stone steps heading towards the office. They ignored the looks they were getting. After all, they were used to it by now.

Why oh why did their guardians make them go back to school?

A bell _dinged_ as they entered the office. The woman behind the desk looked up to greet the visitors but her mouth only dropped in shock.

"Hello!" greeted Sideswipe cheerily as he shrugged off his brother's arm. He made his way to the desk and slapped a piece of paper on the surface. "Here's a note explaining our _absence_. Family issues."

Sunstreaker followed his brother and stood beside him. Was it Sideswipe's imagination, or was Sunny's stance a little protective? "We need new schedules- we lost ours and we can't remember what classes we have," demanded Sunstreaker. The woman picked up the note and scanned through it, her heart sinking when she realised that the two were _back_. She had hoped that she'd never have to see them in her office again. Nodding, she put the note down and clicked some stuff on her computer. A couple of seconds later, a printer was heard and the woman got off her chair and walked to a little side room where the printer was kept.

A door opened to their left and the headmaster walked out, with a student trailing behind him.

"And I'm sure you'll have a great time at our school!" the headmaster was saying and the student finally came into the twins' view.

He was darker skinned and though he was short, one couldn't call him a wimp. He was quite toned, though not overly so, but it showed. His dark hair was in cornrows, exposing his ears, the right one's shell being lined with silver piercings. He wore blue glasses, like the ones people with dyslexia wore, which lead the twins to believe he must be dyslexic. His clothes were simple, a grey shirt, baggy black jeans and black, white and red skate shoes. His appearance and relaxed posture screamed 'cool' to the twins.

"Ah, Jacquie," the headmaster said as the woman shuffled back into the room, holding a folder. "Can you help José here with his schedule?" The woman nodded and handed the folder to the twins. Sideswipe opened it to find two schedules and some catch-up work. The headmaster blinked, only just realising the two were there. His expression immediately changed into one reminiscent of disgust. "Oh. It's you two. I hope you won't be causing much trouble now that you're back? The school seemed _strangely_ peaceful when you two were gone." The sneer was unmistakeable, and in their minds, the twins vowed to cause enough mayhem to drive a normal person insane. The headmaster clapped a hand on 'José's' shoulder. "Do yourself a favour, son. Don't get mixed up with the likes of these two." Turning the new students on them now? That was low. And the headmaster was supposed to be supportive of his students!

Simply choosing to ignore the headmaster, the two turned and walked straight out the door. With a glance at their schedules they walked down the pathway which was clearing out, the bell having rung while they were in the office. Sunny noted with annoyance that the first lesson of the day happened to be the only one he didn't share with Sides. Together they strode to their homeroom, reaching the door all too quickly.

"Ready, Sunny?" asked Sides with a bit of humour in his voice.

"I was born ready," answered Sunstreaker, teasingly.

Inside the homeroom, conversations about the weekend were flying around, rumours and gossip were being discussed, assignments that had been left to the last moment were being hurriedly finished and the rest were sitting around, some with their feet on the tables. The teacher had given up trying to bring order, and was trying to mark the roll with little to no help from the students. All in all, it was an average Monday. Sam and Mikaela sat at the back, talking with a couple of Mikaela's old friends. The couple had completely astounded the students of Tranquillity High when they showed up on campus together in Sam's brand new, hot off the line Camaro. Though there was mixed feelings about the pair in their cohort, no one had been angrier or more vocal about it than Trent.

At first, the jock thought his little 'bunny' had been doing it to make him jealous, revenge for that day at the lake. However Mikaela had quickly shown him that that was not the case. Trent then, in retaliation, had tried beating up Sam Witwicky. Yet every time the blonde had tried to approach him, the brunette seemed to always be by his car, a car the Jock had taken to calling 'Satan's Camaro' (a name Trent hear Wit_liky's_ stupid friend mutter). The car itself didn't seem too threatening, but every time Trent went near that thing, something _bad_ happens. So now, the Jock was ignoring the couple completely, which suited them just fine.

_SLAM!_

Everyone jumped and turned to the door, which had been pushed open quite loudly. In walked Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, heads held high and grinning like the cat that ate the canary. All chatter stopped and Sideswipe was proud that he caused such a reaction.

"Hey guys," said Sides, waving in general to the whole room. Sunstreaker nodded, not as vocal as his twin. The two quickly migrated towards the back where Sam and Mikaela were sitting. The couple greeted the twins warmly, something else to add onto the student population's pile of mysteries.

Sideswipe struck up a conversation about everyone's weekends, and the talking resumed. Of course, he completely lied about his own weekend (chilling with giant alien robots would not have gone over well), and others enquired about the scars that still marred his and Sunstreaker's skin. The story was 'biking accident' and the majority accepted it. Some, however, saw the bags under the twins' eyes from lack of sleep but they knew better than to question it.

Both the twin's sleep was plagued by nightmares, and sometimes not even the usual ones of distant battles and death. No, some were of Jazz, running up to save the twins and getting caught by Megatron. He was tortured and eventually killed, but his optics spoke volumes to the twins: '_this is YOUR fault'._ It was survivor's guilt that caused these nightmares, and did not help them get over the death of Jazz at all. Sunstreaker's nightmares also contained visions of his twin dying, with him unable to save him. It was a horrid feeling and it made him sick to his stomach.

The bell rang again, signalling it was time to start lessons for the day. Reluctantly, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe parted and went their separate ways. Sideswipe distantly followed Sam to his next class, and sat next to the brunette up the back. He saw José enter the room after they had sat down, the dark skinned teen sitting a couple of seats across from him. The teacher appeared shortly after and after taking attendance, started the lesson. Sideswipe drifted off about thirty seconds into the lecture, staring at a map on the wall. In his head, memories replayed of why he was back in this place…

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><p><em>Sideswipe and Sunstreaker sat on the same bed in a room that was to be their temporary bedroom. Sides had vacated the med bay just two days previously, and was enjoying his freedom. Thanks to the energon in his body, his ribs and the rest of his wounds had healed at three times the speed they normally would have. The two were just throwing a tennis ball they had found while they were exploring back and forth. Both were completely bored, having done everything they could have and imagination escaping them. <em>

_The door opened and in walked the holoform of Optimus Prime. This was slightly surprising, as they had barely seen the Autobot commander because the mech had been stuck in meetings and trying to negotiate a new treaty. _

"_Hey, OP," greeted Sideswipe, "Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence."_

"_Good afternoon, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker." The latter ignored the Autbot, turning to face his brother once again._

"_So what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? Not that you need a reason to visit us," hurriedly added the red tipped twin, "But one would think you'd still be stuck in meetings and the like."_

_Optimus sat down on the bed opposite to them, facing Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "I am here on the matter of your guardianship." That made the twins pay attention- it was something that they both wanted the answer to. The stupid government had been arguing against the Autobots on this decision, which was something incredibly stupid considering they had lived their whole lives being raised by the Cybertronians. Also adding the fact that Sides and Sunny would be eighteen in a couple of months made the whole argument pointless._

"_The government has decided that you two shall remain in our care (the twins visibly relaxed), _however,"_ here, Optimus paused making Sideswipe and Sunstreaker nervous once again, "They will not allow you to join NEST."_

"_WHAT?" This was the first word Sunstreaker had spoken to an Autobot in weeks. _

"_Let me finish," said Optimus patiently, "They will not allow you to join NEST until you turn eighteen, until which time you must go back to school."_

_This set off Sideswipe. "That's stupid! It's not like we don't know about the Cybertronians, and we know how to take down Decepticons better than most soldiers! The government are idiots." Sunstreaker nodded in agreement._

_Prime sighed. "I know, but you don't really have a choice. The other option is for you to be taken out of our care and go into the foster care system. I have managed to vouch for you thus far, but the government just does not want to listen."_

"_Alright, thanks OP," sighed Sideswipe. "I think you already know which we prefer."_

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><p>And that was how Sideswipe got to sitting in a desk next to Sam. He groaned quietly. The lecture had taken a turn and was now giving boring a new meaning.<p>

'_So boring,' _he thought, scribbling absently on his book.

'_I agree…'_

Sideswipe jumped, his pen making an ugly mark across his page. "Are you ok there, Mr Autober?" asked the teacher, gazing over his glasses, concerned for his student.

"I'm fine," Sideswipe assured. The teacher studied him for a moment before nodding and going back to his lecture. Sides let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes.

'_Sunny?'_ he asked silently, testing out a theory.

'_Sides?'_a voice answered, seemingly in his head. Sides' eyes widened and covered his mouth with his hand to keep from screaming. Sam saw this action and sent an inquisitive glance his way, which the red tipped twin just shook off.

'_What the pit are you doing in my head?'_

'_Your head? What are you doing in _mine_?' _Sideswipe was close to freaking out now. Of all the strange things they had been through the past few weeks, this was by far one of the oddest. Strangely enough, he also felt foreign emotions, that weren't really foreign at all. Somehow, he could tell that half of the surprise was coming from Sunstreaker, who was in the next block over.

'_Let's not fight now, we'll talk later.'_

'…_Fine. Just so you know, I'm not cool with waiting.'_

'_Oh I know. I just enjoy making you squirm,'_ despite the seriousness of the situation, Sideswipe couldn't help but tease his brother. The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and Sides turned to see José staring at him thoughtfully. Sides gave him a _look_, but the new student didn't turn away. The twin didn't like breaking eye contact first (he assumed it was eye contact, he couldn't really see José's eyes from behind his lenses) but he did so anyway.

After another half hour, the bell rung and Sides was the first out of the room. Despite the crowded hallway, he quickly found Sunny and wound an arm around his shoulders. Sunstreaker nudged him with an elbow but Sideswipe didn't let go. He led him down to Science Lab 3, where there next class, chemistry was. As they were the first there, the two got the seats up at the bench at the very back. Students filed in after them, but the two didn't take much notice. Mr Muller, a middle-aged man with a large beer belly and thinning brown hair sat down at his desk up front, clicking something on his laptop. The projector screen lit up in front of the class, bearing the words 'Chemical Earth: properties'. The class groaned in unison- it was a theory lesson.

Mr Muller took the attendance, pausing at José's name. "New student, huh?" he asked.

"Yup." It was the first time the twins had heard him speak. José's voice was a low tenor and very smooth. The two could tell he had a tongue of silver and could most likely get out of any situation, which was more than they could say for themselves.

"So…" started Muller, "We have recently started a unit on 'Chemical Earth'," he clicked for the next slide and the screen changed to one filled with notes. Satisfied, Muller turned away from the screen to address the class. "One of the most important parts of this unit is understanding the properties of- what are you all laughing at?" The class stopped sniggering and the teacher looked at the screen, which was exactly as he left it. Curious, the twins looked up from drawing crude pictures on their books and tried to find what everyone was laughing at. "So the properties-" Muller stopped again as the class failed to keep a straight face. This time, the twins saw what made everyone giggle.

When Muller's back was turned, the notes were replaced with a moving GIF. The animation was of the headmaster in a sparkly, tight spandex outfit, doing Elvis impersonations. The moving picture's style was slightly reminiscent of stop motion animation, the replaying loop of images not smooth like a normal animation, but slightly jerky.

The process happened multiple times- every time Muller's back was turned, the screen always switched to the GIF animation. On the fifth time this happened, the headmaster's face was replaced with Muller's. No one could stop the sniggers then. And though Muller was a slow man, he was not dumb and he slowly caught onto what was happening. In their heads, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe knew it was time for the culprit to stop, but their mental pleas were ignored. While the prank was not as funny as one the twins themselves would do, they would always look out for a fellow prankster… and they knew they would get blamed for this. Finally, Muller saw what was happening through a reflection in the window and faced the twins angrily.

"Stop it, you two! I will not have you disrupting my class!"

"But it's not us!" protested the twins in unison.

"Yeah right. Get out of my class and down to the headmaster's office! Now!" Muller was starting to look really, _really_ angry so the twins decided not to test his patience, even though they were completely innocent in the matter. They packed up their stuff and left their seats. As they were exiting the classroom, they heard José's voice.

"Sir, can I escort them there? I still need to familiarise myself with the school, and I've already learned this at my old school." There was no hesitation in Muller's consent. The twins were already halfway down the hall when they heard the quick footsteps trying to catch up with them. "Hey guys, wait!"

Sunstreaker whirled around to face their escort, still walking, though backwards. "Why should we wait for you?" sneered Sunny, a little contempt in his voice. "We don't need a goody-two-shoes hanging off us, no matter how _cool_ they may look."

José ran the last few steps so he was even with the twins. The dark skinned teen rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before answering. "I kinda feel guilty, ya know? I mean you got in trouble for _my_ bit of fun." His style of speech had changed from when he was speaking to Muller. Now it was less formal, rougher and more like the average teen's. His words had an immediate effect on the two and their attitude towards him changed slightly.

"Your prank, huh?" questioned Sides, "Well then, I guess we owe you a congratulations on a job well done (even though I know _we _can do better). Next time though, stop before it's too late. After all, for a prankster, it's not about causing trouble, we do that all the time. The trick is not getting caught." Sunstreaker nodded at his twin's wise words.

José grinned. "I will remember that, oh wise one," said the padawan prankster as Sides so eloquently dubbed him in his head. The dark teen bowed jokingly for emphasis. "Anyways, I don't think we've properly met. I don't think I'd call the headmaster telling me to stay away from you an introduction, either. I'm José."

"S-Xan," said Sides, slipping slightly, thanking his twin mentally for nudging him. "Sour puss here is Zac." It felt weird using the human names after going for a little more than a month using just their true names. Sunstreaker jabbed his twin with an elbow again, this time harder. Sides clutched his ribs, his expression morphing into one of pain as he slipped to his knees. Sunny and José froze, the former horrified and the latter confused.

"Oh, Primus, Sides!" exclaimed Sunny, laying a hand on Sides' shaking shoulder. "Sides! …Sides?" He was startled to see his brother laughing his head off at him.

"G-got you!" Sides said between laughs and Sunny withdrew his hand, as if he'd been stung.

"You slagging jerk!" Sunny punched his twin on the shoulder and stalked off. Sides stopped laughing and stood up next to José.

"What was all that about?" hesitantly asked José as they followed the direction Sideswipe's twin went in.

"I was injured pretty badly not too long ago," started Sides, "and Zac's been super protective of me since. Thinking back on it, I probably shouldn't have done that… C'mon." Bemused, José followed.

They finally caught up to Sunny, who was sulking under a tree on the grounds. His arms were crossed and he was frowning, which made Sides feel even more terrible. "Sunny? I'm sorry," apologised Sideswipe softly. "I promise I won't do it again." He kneeled down next to his brother and wrapped his arms around him. For a moment, Sunny just sat unresponsive, until eventually he returned the hug. José looked away, knowing he was intruding on a private moment between brothers.

The twins sat hugging for only a moment, releasing each other when they remembered they had company. "If you tell _anyone_ about this-" threatened Sunny, but was interrupted.

"I know, I know, you'll do some obscenely horrid things to me and my pride. I won't tell- scouts honour," José said, putting his hands up showing he meant no harm. "Anyway, I better head back, Mooller, or whatever his name is, is probably expecting me back. See you guys around." The dark skinned waved and headed back in the direction they had come from, hands in his pockets and whistling a jazzy tune. The twins waited until he was out of eyesight and earshot before talking.

"So about earlier…" Sunstreaker started, leaning back on the tree, his hands behind his head. There was some noise coming from his pocket, and out scuttled a yellow, spidery looking bot, who happened to be Sunny's iPhone. Nox followed, the now bright red sparkling emerging from Sideswipe's bag. Nox had been upgraded to an iPhone, after much urging from Sideswipe, and had turned bright red so they could tell the difference between him, and Lumos, who was Sunstreaker's phone (the name was a bit of a joke, Nox being the counter to the spell _Lumos_ from the Harry Potter series. Epps had come up with it). The two spidery sparklings each perched themselves on a shoulder of each of the twins, conversing in Cybertronian gibberish. The two had bonded quickly, and it was really convenient for the twins to have matching Cybertronian phones which were virtually un-hackable.

"I think it has something to do with the energon," explained Sides after a pause, gazing over to the car park where they could see their own cars and Bumblebee. "I remember Ratchet telling me that Cybertronian twins have a strong bond, allowing them to communicate and feel each other's emotions. Sort of like a spark-bond, but not really… if you get what I mean?"

Sunstreaker nodded. Even now he could feel his brother's content and his love for him. "What does it mean, though?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm not Primus." Another bell rang, this one for the start of lunch. Within minutes, the grounds were swarming with students and the twins could talk no more on the matter.

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><p><strong>So, that's part 1 of familiar strangers! What do you think of José? I'm trying not to make him Gary Stu, 'cause I have a lot planned for him, and I'd hate to get rid of him before I can execute said plans :P<strong>

**To those who are wondering, I'm just heaping all the movies and arcs into one big story, maybe with the occasional oneshot here and there. It's too tiresome trying to keep up with sequels, and I find some people lose interest if you make too many sequels.**

**Don't forget to review guys- I haven't boobytrapped the button or anything. Though I can't vouch for the twins... Or José...**

**Until next time,**

**Greentree Frog.**


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